The Client
by TheWillOfMythal
Summary: AU Story. Alex and Piper meet under very different circumstances. Alex being a mysterious, powerful woman and Piper being...
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone!

So, I just started with the third season and I'm taking my time with it, but I had this idea a couple of days ago and I couldn't stop thinking about it... Don't worry though, there are no spoilers ahead for any season. This would be also my very first Orange fanfiction, Alex/Piper of course, but an AU story.

Anyway, before I continue with another chapter I would like to know what you think about this first :)

I apologize for eventual grammar errors (english is not my first language).

Disclaimer: I don't own Orange Is The New Black

Enjoy

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I tightened the coat around myself as the chilly autumnal night air welcomed me.

I looked down at the high heels that I was wearing and my bare legs thinking that maybe I should have wore stockings so I wouldn't have started shivering as much as I stepped out from the limousine.

But the reason because I was shivering wasn't just because of the cold.

I raised my head to look behind the open gate, towards the majestic 17th century chateau, a perfect french replica that made me question for a moment if it wasn't actually authentic and transported there directly from Europe.

That thought alone, made me feel even more nervous, and the anxiety that I managed to keep at bay for all the 45 minutes drive from the city, started to resurface. Unconsciously, I wrapped the coat around myself more tightly as I exhaled, slowly, right before I started to walk down the impeccable garden path, surrounded by bushes of roses and other flowers and plants.

I couldn't help but admire their beauty as I walked past them, and despite the cold that in the short walk had managed to make my nose numb, I was impressed I could still smell their delicate fragrance, and somehow, as I closed my eyes for a few seconds, feeling that strangely comforting scent filling my nostrils. My body relaxed just enough for me to feel more calm, despite the fact that I was already standing in front of the massive wooden front door of the chateau.

I was so absorbed in admiring the garden that I noticed the impressive structure of the house only when I stopped right in front of it.

It had a total of three floors, built entirely in stone, with baroque decorations.

I swallowed hard, wondering for the tenth time who could possibly own such a mansion.

But I wasn't there for a tour. I released another breath full of that persistent sense of anxiety before I raised my hand to knock.

 _I'm here for work,_ I repeated inside of my head trying to convince myself, _It's just like any other time._

I knocked using one of the lion clapper, then I pulled my hand back to give one last fix to my hair, knowing that the wind had tossed it slightly.

The sound of steps approached the door and I closed my eyes, breathing deeply for the last few seconds.

 _It's just work, like any other time._

My eyes fluttered open in the same instant the door swung open, revealing on the other side a short rather young woman with long messy blonde-reddish hair.

"Hello, I'm-"

"You are not Sylvia."

She interrupted me before I could introduce myself, tilting her head to the side as she spoke, leaning against the frame of the massive door and looking at me up and down.

A small sigh left my lips; I knew that this was probably going to be the first thing I would have heard in the moment I arrived, but it certainly didn't help how I was already feeling.

However, I was glad that from the outside I could still show my perfectly cool demeanor as I answered to what wasn't a question but a pretty clear statement.

"Sylvia couldn't make it, she sent me instead with her apologies."

I didn't linger on the futile detail where Sylvia called in sick at the last moment and demanded my presence because she thought I was the only one who could do in this case.

The shorter woman remained there, taking a few more moments to study me, until I saw a small smirk tugging at her lips.

"Alright... I don't think the boss will be disappointed." She shook her head once and then stepped aside to let me in.

The door closed behind me with a soft thud that resonated around the vast foyer.

I tried to contain my amazement as I looked around me. But what greeted me as soon as I stepped in, made it very difficult.

Carrara marble covered every visible surface, pieces of art - from the landscapes of romanticism to the complex and decorative lines of art nouveau's paintings - adorned the walls around, the ceiling was high resembling the ones of some ancient venetian palace, and in front of me a classic double staircase lead to the upper floor.

I was brought back from my not so subtle scrutiny by the reddish short woman as she helped me out of my coat, leaving me with my midnight blue skirt that ended right at the middle of my thigh, exposing my bare legs which looked even more long and toned thanks to my ankle strap high heels.

She turned to look at me and gave me a slight nod and an obvious look of approval.

I was used to certain attention, after a while I didn't even notice them anymore, but she looked rather friendly and the way she smiled at me reassuringly put me immediately at ease even if deep down I was still feeling more than a bit anxious, and I could tell that she could sense it too.

"Don't be nervous, blondie. The fact that you have a great sense of fashion will certainly please the boss."

To say that I was curious to ask who this _'boss'_ was, would have been a huge understatement.

Sylvia didn't tell me much about who I would have met that night, and honestly, I didn't ask for much details either.

There was no point.

Work was work.

But now that I stood there, in the middle of the vestibule of a 17th century chateau, it was difficult to not feel a slight sense of nervousness.

Even if I was rather new in this business, I had my standards, I was used to meet my appointments in some fancy hotel, _but this..._ I took another look around me. This was above any expectation.

And it was probably that thought that made me feel anxious and, secretly, more than a bit thrilled at the same time.

I smiled politely as I thanked the young woman for the compliment, deciding that if I started acting like if it was any other time, maybe that sensation that was currently clenching my stomach would have left me sooner rather than later.

Or so I hoped...

After that I followed her as she headed toward the stairs. The only sound echoing around us was the constant click of my high heels on the intricate design of the marble floor.

I didn't ask questions, even if I knew a short conversation would have helped me in get rid of some of the tension I felt in my shoulders and neck.

I could feel that my silent companion wanted the same for me, the silence was becoming deafening and uncomfortable, and I was actually glad that as we walked along the hallway of the upper floor, I almost tripped over myself when my eyes landed on what I was pretty sure was an original Salvador Dalì, capturing the attention of the young woman - whose name was still unknown to me, but so were a lot of other things at the moment.

"Be careful there, blondie." She turned with an amused smile to look at my slightly wide eyed expression as my gaze shifted toward the painting once again.

She probably read the question all over my face because a second later she said "I've been here for five years, and no, even I still don't know if it is authentic." She concluded with a small chuckle before starting to walk again only to stop a few feet away in front of one of the closed doors in what seemed an endless hallway softly lit by ornate wall lights that matched perfectly the baroque style of the house.

"And here we are. There is no need for you to knock, just enter whenever you are ready, ok?"

I looked at my side as she spoke just barely above a whisper and I breathed in slowly, nodding in understanding as I exhaled.

She gave me a small smile right before she turned to leave.

"W-wait," I stopped her as my curiosity had the best on me, considering to ask something at the very last moment.

She turned towards me tilting her head to the side and raising slightly her eyebrows to let me know she had my attention.

I could feel my hands starting to shake and my heartbeats becoming faster as I suddenly found myself asking

"I wasn't given much details... I- I mean- ...There is something in particular-"

I knew I should have asked such questions to Sylvia when she called me to tell me about the appointment, but at the moment it didn't seem important; the address was all I really needed after all. But something inside of me stirred, and made me want to know at the very last minute, aware that knowing even a small detail would have helped me to make a better impression to whomever I was going to meet.

However, the shorter friendly young woman interrupted me before I could finish, already knowing what I was trying to ask as she walked the few steps that were separating us before she leaned in and whispered the answer looking me right in the eyes.

"She likes to watch."

With that she winked at me before turning on her heels, leaving me alone in the long hallway, in front of a white decorated door hearing the soft music coming from behind it, wondering whom I was going to meet on the other side, and unable to suppress the feeling in my stomach that made me feel like a lamb that was getting ready to enter into the lair of a wolf.

 **. . .**

I watched as the golden liquid danced sinuously around the glass until I stopped the movement of my hand, bringing the glass up under my nose.

I closed my eyes as I inhaled, and with the strong aroma filling my nostrils I brought the glass to my lips, taking the first generous sip.

It went down my throat as smooth as honey. The delicate taste of dark chocolate and fruits covered so deliciously every trace of the usual burn of alcohol, and I wondered why I had waited so long to open this bottle.

I wasn't a great drinker,in my line of work addictions were considered dangerous when precision and a clear mind were the first things required, and I certainly wasn't for whisky, but the last few contracts turned out to be a complete success.

A plain, clear work, and the Agency was more than pleased to hear about how smoothly the operation went.

I took another sip, relaxing back into my black leather lounge chair, seeing the flames of the fireplace dancing behind my closed eyes.

Tonight I was in a good mood for some quiet celebration, and I was more than happy to relax a bit after the long flight, enjoying the 1947 Macallan as I waited for my guest to arrive.

I poured some more into my glass before I closed the bottle, taking a mental note to have Nicky try some of this, smiling at the idea, already knowing that she would have loved it.

Just when my thoughts started to drift toward my best friend and _colleague_ , a tentative knock on the door reached me above the soft music coming from the stereo.

I frowned as I thought about my appointment; Sylvia never knocked, and Nicky never disturbed me at this hour unless it was something really important that required my immediate attention.

The thought of my night being possibly interrupted for something related to work made me almost groan in frustration as I placed the glass on the small table beside me, but just when I was going to stand, the door opened and into the room stepped a young blonde woman.

The fact that she didn't noticed me immediately was at my advantage as I recomposed myself and relaxed once again in my seat. I was in a obscured angle of the room and the only illumination was the one provided by the fireplace in front of the bed.

I pushed my glasses up on the bridge of my nose as I took in every detail I came across and I studied my guest for a few short seconds.

She was young, but not the kind of young that someone interpreted as unexperienced.

Blonde hair fell neatly over her bare shoulders and the blue skirt she was wearing hugged her body very nicely.

My eyes lingered a little longer on a pair of long, inviting legs and I found myself leaning in slightly to have a better look despite the fact that we were still several feet away from each other to have a proper, accurate view, but what I saw with a first glance wasn't bad. At all.

There was a hint of innocence about her however, and at that I couldn't suppress the smirk that I suddenly felt tugging at my lips.

The sound of the door closing behind her was my cue to make my presence known, not wanting to make my guest feel ignored or uncomfortable.

"There was no need for you to knock." I reassured, but despite my calm and light tone, I still succeeded to startle her a bit.

She turned to look in my direction where she heard my voice coming from and I saw her squinting her eyes a little as she tried to focus on my figure hidden in the shadows.

"I-I know, I'm sorry. I just... didn't want to barge in." She offered, stammering, as she took a general look around my bedroom, and at her response I couldn't help but chuckle quietly. Her attention returning to my corner another time at the sound.

"No need to apologize," I reached for my glass, taking the last sip before I raised from the chair. "Since you are here, I suppose you are Sylvia's replacement for tonight." I stated as I made my way towards her, slowly.

She remained in the same spot, looking at my approaching form, still not able to figure out my features in the dark.

I saw her shifting slightly in her position as she realized I was waiting for an answer.

"That's correct," Her voice came out a little deeper and lower before she cleared softly her throat, and at that I turned toward the small bar counter to pour a flute of prosecco as she explained.

"She couldn't make it tonight, so she sent me instead along with her apologies."

I placed the bottle down into the ice bucket, picked up the glass and made my way towards the blonde who was now standing in front of the fireplace.

"Sylvia doesn't send just anyone here to entertain me," I paused, my eyes locking with blue ones as I exited from the shadows, enjoying the reaction that I managed to pull from her as she saw me for the first time before I continued. "There must be something special about you."

With that I offered her the flute, her eyes shifted just briefly to look at my outstretched arm before they returned to me as she accepted the glass.

Our fingers brushed together, and even if it was only for a split second, I couldn't ignore the shiver that ran all the way along my spine at the small, almost imperceptible contact.

She thanked me for the drink, her voice a delicate caress, barely above a whisper as I watched her pupils dilatating, the black swallowing a great part of the blue that was sparkling in a ring of light against the reflection of the flames from the fireplace.

Those eyes remaining locked with mine, and for a few moments, the sound of the roaring fire and the soft music playing in the background were the only sounds in the room.

She broke the silence first, and an attractive confidence that surprised me filled her smooth elegant voice.

"I don't think I introduced myself properly." I tilted my head slightly to the side, never diverting my eyes from hers as she spoke.

"I'm Piper. But for tonight, I can be anyone you want me to be."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to not show one of my infamous cocky smirks at her presentation, instead I settled for the only thing I could think to say back in that moment.

"Nice to meet you Piper," I tested her name, enjoying how it rolled off my tongue before I continued, lowering my voice into a slightly deeper tone. "My name is Alex."

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 **...I hope I made you curious for more...**


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, first of all I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for all the amazing reviews you left and for all the alert/favorite. Really guys, thank you so much! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the first chapter and that I've made you hungry for more :) And here I am with the next chapter. The air is slowly becoming warmer, so I decided to change the rating to M, just to be safe.

Enjoy

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A warm unexpected shiver ran along my spine when I saw her appearing from the darkness.

Long black hair, alabaster skin, plump rosy lips... And behind black rimmed glasses, the deeper and brightest pair of green eyes I had ever seen in my life locked immediately with mine.

The effect that that look had on me was devastating.

But it was nothing compared to the powerful flutters that her deep, husky voice started inside of me when she spoke.

There was something about this woman, something primal in the way she looked at me with that small almost seductive smile. It made me tremble with a combination of so many emotions that overwhelmed me.

My throat went suddenly dry and I was glad that she had offered me a glass of wine.

Never diverting my eyes from hers, I brought the glass to my lips taking a small sip, as if I was seeking for courage, barely managing to contain a moan as I tasted the wine on my tongue, enjoying it sweetness, both delicate and refreshing.

I watched as her eyes shifted slightly down to look at the profile of my jaw, the side of my neck, the column of my throat, until she reached the exposed part of my cleavage.

Her gaze returned to me only when the skirt I was wearing got in the way of her scrutiny, and if it was possible, her eyes looked even more vivid then.

Or maybe it was just the effect that the reflecting flickering flames had on her glasses.

But whatever it was, caused goosebumps to raise on my skin despite the comforting warmth offered by the near fire.

"So," She spoke, softly, without any sign of tentativeness as she took a small step closer, and I found myself shifting slightly forward, unconsciously, as if her body was pulling an invisible magnet I didn't know I had hidden somewhere deep inside me.

"Do you have something specific in mind?" I asked for her, my tone matching her own soft but secure one knowing where the conversation was headed.

She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at my question, not showing confusion but amusement and just a hint of surprise.

"I certainly do, but first," Her eyes roamed all over my body, head tilted to the side when she looked down at my bare legs and high heels, shaking her head slightly with a look of appreciation as she exhaled through her nose. "I would like to see a preview."

When her gaze met mine once again, I didn't miss the new glint that had appeared in those emerald eyes as she smirked, an irresistible sexy smirk that had me bite my lower lip to try to suppress one of my own at her suggestion. The idea was actually intriguing, and I was more than a little surprised when I felt my body humming pleasurably in response.

But even if I tried not to show it, I was sure she could see my real reaction into my eyes, which I was pretty sure had widened in appreciation.

I hid the smirk into the glass as I took the last sip of wine, and when I pulled it back, I gave her my most seductive smile. "As you wish."

My eyes fixed on her lips as she sucked slightly her bottom lip into her mouth, and when she released it a second later, it was glistening. Rosy and inviting.

Like a juicy strawberry.

I didn't even notice that in the meantime she had taken the empty glass from my hand, but when she raised her head to look at me, I didn't miss the look of pure satisfaction that was covering her features.

Evidently, she had caught me watching her, and she seemed very pleased with the fact that I remained there looking dumbstruck, with my lips slightly parted for a few more seconds.

I couldn't help it.

I recomposed myself, feeling my face becoming warmer, knowing that a soft blush was spreading all over my cheeks and neck, but glad that in case, I could have pretended it was because of the heat coming from the fireplace, which however was nothing compared to the warmth I felt rising in my stomach when she gave me one last glance before she turned and walked towards the same dark spot I saw her coming out from only a few minutes before.

Shadows swallowed her another time.

But I knew she was there.

I could almost see her as she sat comfortably into the chair, reached for the remote of the stereo and turned up a bit the volume of the music.

It was just in that moment that I remembered of the soft music I heard before I entered, but in the instant I saw her, the ancient pieces of furniture around the room, the fine texture of the elegant black silk sheets I saw lying on the bed, and every detail that amazed me from the moment I stepped into the house, just... vanished. Only to return and welcome me back as a reminder of what I needed to do now.

I kept looking in front of me as I reached for the zipper behind my back, imagining that my eyes were locked with that new singular shade of green I had just met, as I pulled it down, as slowly as possible, exposing completely first one shoulder and then the other.

From the darkness I could almost feel her eyes following my movements, running for every inch of new exposed skin, feeling her gaze burning into my flesh when the skirt pooled at my feet and I stepped out of it, leaving me in only my heels and black lingerie.

"Come closer."

The soft, husky command caused my heart to beat faster but I obeyed, taking a few steps closer, until her form was more visible, making sure that she could still see mine perfectly as I remained out from the shadows.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the rhythm of the music, feeling it running inside me as my hips started to move first, then my hands, and before I could realize it, my entire body was moving sinuously in a slow, sensual dance, accompanied by the light of the flames playing behind me.

When I opened my eyes, green ones where there to greet me, never missing a sway of my hips, watching me intently, darkening with a compelling light behind black rimmed glasses.

And at that point, as that dangerous look filled with lust covered her features, I couldn't help but surrender to the sudden flood of arousal that hit me in my lower abdomen, feeling as it started to pool between my legs.

 **. . .**

I followed every movement of her body, reluctant to even blink if not when it was really necessary, not wanting to lose a single instant of the show in front of me.

She was slim, thin, toned but in a very sensual and feminine way, where all the curves were in all the right places.

Our eyes remained locked as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair, hers were half lidded, seductive, her lips slightly parted to take in small sips of air as her hands ran down the back of her neck, caressing her collarbone before she lowered them further, gently cupping her own small breasts through the material of the lace bra.

I shifted in my seat, crossing my legs, telling myself that it was because I needed to find a better, more comfortable position and not because of the throb that I could feel clenching my center when she turned around, looking at me over her right shoulder, swaying her hips and following the rhythm of the music, showing the nice swell of her ass through a matching pair of black panties.

A pair of long thighs followed, ending with toned calfs that appeared even more toned thanks to the four inch high heels that she was wearing.

I pushed my glasses further up on the bridge of my nose just when she turned on her side, giving me a perfect view of her profile as she continued her sensual dance, leaning back a little, and showing an attractive sheet of abdominal muscles in the slow movement.

My hands started to itch as hers kept running on every inch of her body, wondering how it would have felt having that just barely sun kissed skin under my fingertips and feeling her muscles contracting under my touch.

Watching a woman performing in a sensual dance was one of my favourite things.

I enjoyed the sense of anticipation, the slow burn and waiting that sometimes bordered into a bitter sweet torture; but I loved it nonetheless. The possibilities that created in my mind would only continue to grow and grow until my body wouldn't take it anymore, and usually, at that point, a great part of my self control had already left me.

But that night...

That night was different.

The young blonde woman was pulling something from inside me that I couldn't describe. And at the momentI certainly didn't try to figure out what it was.

All could feel, and all I knew, was that I found myself trying to restrain the beast inside of me that was ready to make its appearance at any moment.

But the other part of me, the one lead by my impressive self control, wanted to enjoy the show for just a little longer, taking pleasure in that sweet slow burn.

She started to pull at the waistband of her panties, teasingly, revealing a few inches of bare perfectly shaved skin before she released it and her hands returned to her bra, playing with the straps until said delicate looking hands reached behind her back.

I licked my lips, finding my voice just in time before she could unclasp the lace garment.

"No," My voice came out raspier than usual. "Leave it on."

The idea was more than inviting actually, but I had other plans for her.

She followed my command, her hands returned on her front just when the stereo changed track and that was the only sign I needed to continue with what I had planned in my head.

"You are a natural, and very talented at this." I complimented at last shaking my head in appreciation as I sighed, she stopped dancing when she heard my voice and even if her face was partially obscured, I could perfectly distinguish the small blush that started spreading on her cheeks.

I actually found it kind of endearing and I couldn't help the half smirk that tugged at my lips when I saw it.

"Thank you." She said softly, hands clasped in front of her and head tilted slightly down, maybe to cover said blush.

"Now, I would like you to lay down on the bed, and close your eyes."

Despite the gentle tone I used I made sure it still sounded like a command.

She raised her head to look at me, the hint of shyness that I had found there when she first entered in my room returned for a second, but just like it had appeared, with a blink was already gone. Her eyes darkened and when they locked with mine, she nodded and then turned to walk towards the bed.

I watched her quickly discarding her high heels and then lay delicately on the sheets, a natural pose, relaxed despite the fact that she must have been a little nervous not knowing which were my plans for her.

I stood to walk the short distance to the bed, reaching the side she choose to lay down and watched as her chest raised and fell with every breath she took, a little faster than normal.

Her lips were slightly parted, her skin flushed maybe because of the fact that she had been dancing or maybe because of the the sense of anticipation that I was hoping to evoke in her.

I sat down beside her, resting just on the border of the bed.

I saw her swallowing, noticed the pulse point at the base of her throat jumping more forcefully, but her eyes remained closed, just like I asked.

Her beauty was simple, she was barely wearing any make up and that only pleased me more, showing her young smooth skin, that same skin I had been fantasizing to touch since I saw her stepping out of that skirt.

My eyes lowered from her face to look at her neck, then her small but inviting breasts where I could see her nipples showing under the material of her bra. A flat creamy stomach followed, and when I arrived the top of her panties, that is when I stopped my accurate examination and reached out, gently caressing her right forearm.

I heard her inhale deeply through her nose and my gaze shifted to look at her face just in time to see blue eyes slowly fluttering open.

Our eyes remained locked, enjoying watching the way that the light of the flames coming from the fireplace caressed her features. I wrapped my fingers around her wrist in a gentle hold, taking her hand in mine only to bring it towards her center.

The way those clear blue orbs widened and darkened slightly in realization reminded me of the throb that was still persisting between my legs.

She let me guide her hand under the waistband of her panties, mine resting perfectly on top of hers, and when I knew she had slid down enough, I gave a suggestive but delicate squeeze.

The response was immediate.

And it came out with a soft moan through her parted lips as her fingertips connected with her clit.

My stomach tightened pleasurably when I heard that sound coming from her, and unable to resist, I went just a little lower.

I couldn't touch her directly because her hand was what kept me separated from her center, but I could feel how wet she was when with my knuckles I touched the warm slick patch that had formed on the front of her panties.

And this time I had to fight the low groan that was ready to escape from my throat.

Keeping control was quickly becoming a challenge, especially when I felt her starting running her fingertips over her clit, with my hand following the movement for a few agonizing seconds before I pulled out, reluctantly.

I was both very much pleased and at the same time conflicted by how things were going, but since my guest seemed to enjoy the suggestion I had wordlessly offered, there was no way I was going to stop her now.

The view was too appealing, irresistible, and I found myself licking my lips when I looked down and under the black lace panties I saw her moving her hand a little faster, more convinced.

When my gaze returned to her face I saw that her eyes were half lidded, filled with desire as they found mine immediately, and at that point, I bent, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.

For a moment I lost myself when her incredible scent filled my nostrils and made my mouth water as I recognized the delicate sweetness of vanilla and raspberries.

Not for the first time that night, in less than half an hour, I had to fight my urges, doing my best to not lean in for the last inch and lick, suck or sink my teeth and taste the smooth sensitive skin of her neck.

But somehow I resisted, and with that thought in mind, my voice came out so very low and husky when I said

"I want to see you come."

I cupped one of her breasts, slowly moving my thumb back and forth across one already hard nipple, hearing as her breath hitched in her throat at what seemed an unexpected but welcomed touch that encouraged me to continue.

"Touch yourself like you usually do."

I released her breast from my gentle hold after giving it a soft squeeze, and I could have sworn that I heard a barely audible whimper escaping from her lips at the loss of contact.

"If it helps, you can close your eyes and pretend you are alone. I will not interfere."

When I pulled back I was expecting to find her with her eyes already closed, imagining a different scenario, instead they were open, meeting mine more than eagerly, silently letting me know that she had intention to follow only the first two parts of my plan, and since they were the most important to me, I was more than pleased with that.

The change of plans for the night caused by the arrival of my unexpected guest, was actually becoming more and more interesting with every passing minute.

With Sylvia I was used to do things in a different way, but now, with this young lady on my bed, looking eager and ready to obey to my every order, it was impossible not to appreciate and enjoy the new ideas and possibilities that appeared in my mind.

I smirked down at her as I stood up only to reach the other side of the bed and lay down on my side, my head propped up on one hand, legs pressed together trying to contain my growing arousal as I prepared myself for the second part of the show.

* * *

 **Just a first taste ;) After all, this Alex likes to take her time and savor every moment.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hi there!

I'm so happy you liked the previous chapter :) Really, I know that I left you 'high and dry' as someone said *evil grin* But to make it up to you guys, I managed to finish this new chapter a bit earlier, so... :D

Enjoy

* * *

I had never done this in front of anyone before.

 _Ever._

And now I wasn't just going to do it in front of a complete stranger, but she was also lying just on the other side of the large luxurious king size bed.

The thought alone should have made me feel beyond nervous, had me at least a bit reluctant even.

But... I wasn't.

I couldn't ignore how my body responded to that almost predatory look that covered her features when she was watching me dance, nor I could ignore the effect her light but secure - even if brief - touch had on me when she took my hand in hers and slid them together under the waistband of my underwear.

She threw a smirk at me because she felt it too.

She knew I was wet.

My fingers went lower, just above my opening and I almost gasped.

She just didn't know _how wet_ I was.

I was throbbing with need, a need that surprised me, guided by an unexpected attraction for the unknown, for the compelling aura of confidence and mystery that she carried, wondering if she knew what kind of effect she was having on me.

She laid down on the other side of the bed, facing me, waiting for me to give her what she had asked.

It was impossible not to scan my eyes over her figure and admire her physical elegance for a few too short seconds.

To say that she was gorgeous wouldn't even have been enough to describe the complexity of her singular beauty, and for a moment I even thought that that was the reason because I felt so aroused; dealing with someone who was so good looking, definitely helped in making things so much better.

But I knew that it couldn't be just for that reason.

I knew that this time there was something different.

And even if I had no idea of what it was, the evidence was now covering my whole hand.

It was surprisingly exciting to know that her eyes would have been all over me as I pleasured myself, and with that thought in mind, my fingertips returned to my already swollen and slick clit, teasing it between two of my fingers before I started circling it.

My gaze fixed on her relaxed form, one hand supporting her head, long black hair falling on the pillow under her as her other hand rested on one long thigh.

The light of the flames coming from the fireplace in front of the bed covered part of her face, but for a second I could see that her eyes, as I expected - _and secretly hoped -_ were fixed right between my legs.

Without realizing it I put a bit more pressure on my clit and circled it faster, causing another flood of wetness to spill from deep inside at my more secure touch. My eyes fluttered closed and my lips parted, letting out a soft moan.

I continued until my hips started to lift, the muscles on my legs and ass flexed rhythmically along the ones on my stomach with every breath I took in, and at that point I needed more.

Reluctant to stop my movement, that was quickly pushing me over the edge, but guided by the desire to feel more, I slid my hand out of my panties, I opened my eyes, and when they adjusted to the silent but intently watching figure lying on the opposite side from me, I raised my hips and proceeded in sliding the underwear down my legs.

The low guttural groan that my gesture caused, ran for all the length of my spine, ending with a powerful series of flutters in my lower abdomen.

I could almost see the look of appreciation, catching a glimpse of her face as the flames danced in the partially dark room, imagining those green eyes darkening dangerously behind the lenses of her glasses.

My soaked panties landed on the silky dark sheets of the bed and I opened my legs wider, bending one at the knee, hoping that my hostess would have had a better view of what I was doing when my hand returned to my center.

Even if the room was warm and comforting, a whisper of cool air welcomed my core, sending a delightful shiver through my body before I resumed the motion where I had left, circling my clit a couple of more times before I went lower, and then returning up only to leave a wet glistening trail of wetness up to my navel, that I knew was immediately seen by the raven haired woman.

She shifted in her position, and I saw how the hand that was previously lying relaxed along her thigh, was now resting on the sheets beneath her, and in the instant I entered myself, before my eyes fluttered shut at the incredible sensation of being filled, I saw how the muscles of her forearm flexed as she fisted those same sheets in a powerful grip.

My own sudden need to hold into something brought my free hand up to cup my breast, first on top of the bra, and then, as I pushed my fingers back inside of myself, under it, squeezing it more tightly.

The pressure of the blood pumping into my ears made it near to impossible to hear my own moans of pleasure, which I was sure were becoming more loud and frequent, just like my breaths and the speed of my thrusts.

For a few moments I almost forgot that I wasn't alone, but when I realized that I was performing in front of the mysterious woman, my inner walls fluttered around my fingers, and the sensation was only amplified when I dared to turn my head to the side, meeting lust filled eyes, a rosy tongue peeking out to lick what I suspected were the softest pair of lips, and strong long fingers that were pulling half absently at her leather belt.

After seeing that, my movement sped up, pulling out my fingers for a few seconds to circle my clit only to push back inside more forcefully, bordering the point of pain but at the same time causing immense pleasure that had me shout in the partially illuminated room.

My hips continued to lift on their own will, seeking more contact against my core, the muscles on my legs ached and started to tremble. I could feel drops of sweat gathering on my neck, chest and abdomen, and my heart was beating so hard that I could feel it jumping in my throat.

Electricity ran through my body.

The pressure between my legs was reaching its limit, my inner muscles kept clenching and fluttering with every thrust, every stroke reaching a deeper place inside of me, the tendons on my hand and wrist started to hurt and burn for exertion, but I couldn't stop.

It felt so good.

So incredibly good.

The air was already filled with my pants and moans.

All I needed was that extra push to take the edge off.

Removing my other hand from where I was still occasionally squeezing my breast turned out to be more difficult than what I expected. All my muscles were twitching, making difficult the simplest gesture of coordination when I was so close, but I managed, my legs opened even further in the same instant I finally reached my core.

Two strokes and one final hard unforgiving thrust.

That's all it took to feel my body go rigid for a split second.

To feel my inner muscles clamping down around my own fingers, to hear a long moan echoing around the room as my eyes fluttered shut.

I remained breathless for what seemed like an eternity, feeling the initial part of my orgasm assaulting me...

Only to leave me as quickly as it arrived.

When I finally started breathing again, the air I was holding in my exhausted lungs came out with a strangled sob full of unsatisfaction and frustration.

Despite its intensity, the pleasure washed over me too quickly, leaving me still incredibly full, aching and craving for the release that made me so desperate that I could feel tears filling my closed eyes.

I didn't feel the mattress shift under me, forgetting momentarily where I was as I pulled my fingers out from myself, cupping my sex and closing my legs tightly, not knowing if I was doing it to try to contain the ache I felt there, or if I was just trying to forget about the disappointment I had just experienced.

And that is why I was so startled when I was brought back into reality by a deep husky voice and a pair of incredibly soft by strong hands running up and down my still closed legs.

"That was really a delightful sight," My eyes fluttered tentatively open and I was immediately greeted by my hostess as she sat on the bed. "But I can tell that it hasn't been as satisfying for you as it has been for me to watch."

Her delicate touch seemed to relax a bit my tense body, allowing her to part my legs, my hands moved to leave my center completely exposed under a gaze that became immediately hungry.

A gaze that made me shiver when those lust filled eyes found mine once again, leaving me at a loss of words.

"It's okay..." She continued, reassuring me that I didn't need to say anything, and I was incredibly glad for that. Her grip became more solid around my thigh, her fingernails dug into my flesh causing only a hint of pain, followed immediately by that pleasurable sense of anticipation when that slightly raspy deep voice reached my ears.

"I know you have more to give me."

I could just see as she settled between my parted legs, throwing at me a predatory smirk and look over her glasses, because in the instant I felt her warm breath caressing me, my eyes fluttered shut and my head started to spin.

 **. . .**

The smell of her scent had filled the air around since she had first started touching herself, but now that I was resting just between her parted legs, that light scent flooded my nostrils making my mouth water as I wondered if she would have tasted as sweet as she smelled.

I was going to have my answer soon enough, but I couldn't help not take a moment and look at what I had in front of me.

She was swollen.

So open.

So ready.

So incredibly wet, glistening with the reflection of the flames coming from the fireplace that made her look even more smooth and inviting.

The thin hood of her clit was completely pulled back, exposing its rosy sensitive tip in the cool air, and I could have sworn that I saw it pulsing with need, begging for a relief that I knew she hadn't found in her previous orgasm.

I licked my lips just when I noticed that a few more drops of her juices had gathered at her opening.

That was the last thing I could take.

I had waited long enough. Way more than what I could usually bear.

The seam of the jeans I was wearing rubbed right between my legs, putting more pressure on my throbbing clit as I settled more comfortably, gripping a pair of long toned thighs before I dipped my head for the last few inches, slowly running my tongue all the way from her entrance to her swollen clit.

She was all silky wet heat.

I felt her shivering, her legs trembling in my hands as a soft relieved moan reached my ears, I looked up unable to resist as I repeated the same motion, and I saw her clenching the sheets at her sides, head thrown back against the pillows, exposing the sensual length of her neck.

After a few more licks and teasing swirls around her clit that managed to pull moan after moan from her parted lips, I swallowed her pure essence, and at that point, I was the one that let out a low groan.

The flavor on my tongue and lips could only have been described as delicious.

And the more I licked, the more she gave me.

Part of me was curious to know how much more I could have draw out of her, but I knew that testing my patience further would have been dangerous, so I ran my tongue lower, stopping right at her entrance, where she tasted stronger, saltiest, but always so incredibly sweet, and then I pushed forward.

A sharp cry is what I received when I felt velvety heat wrapping around the tip of tongue, and that was all the encouragement I needed to continue.

Her hips started to lift, trying to take me in deeper, her legs quivered, her moans and pants were becoming louder by the minute. I looked up to see a glistening trail of sweat running from the center of her abdomen up to her chest, my eyes reached her neck seeing also a few drops forming there, and without even realizing it, I increased my efforts, pulling out from her opening and returning to pay attention where I knew she needed me the most.

I gripped her thighs, hard, keeping her open and still as I wrapped my lips around her and started sucking on her clit, gently at first, but when I felt another round of shivers running through her body and her breaths becoming more shallows, I started sucking it into my mouth more vigorously, flicking my tongue over the sensitive tip.

Not even a second later, she froze.

The muscles of her legs went rigid under my hands, but I continued, hearing as those soft moans turned into deep cries of pleasure that resonated around the room in the same instant I felt her releasing a flood of warmth that covered my chin in her wetness.

I smirked with my lips still sealed around the little hard bud of her clit, feeling as she tried to buck her hips against my mouth but unable to lift them more than an inch because of the strong hold I had on her upper thighs.

I stared up at her from behind my glasses, looking over her stomach, past the swell of her small breasts, to look at her face.

Her head was turned to the side but I could see that her eyes were just barely open, her lips parted, trying to take in as much air as as she could to regulate her breathing.

She was spent. She gave me all that she wasn't able to release when she was touching herself, everything she could.

I ran my tongue for her entire length a few more times, slowly, unable to resist the urge to taste some more of her sweet essence that didn't fail in clenching my core in a reminder of my own need that was quickly becoming unberable.

After I was sure she had rode through the aftershock, I pulled back from between her legs, wiping my chin and mouth on the back of my hand as my gaze travelled north to meet the very satisfied look on her face, colored by a soft attractive blush.

A pair of eyes that had darkened into a deeper shade of blue locked with mine.

"I hope that was satiating," I said licking my lips, knowing what the answer was as I gave her my most smug smile that didn't fail in spreading that blush further down her neck.

"Because now I need you to take care of something for me." I concluded, standing from the bed and pulling suggestively at the extremity of my black leather belt.

I saw her swallow, eyes darkening even more as she knelt on the bed to face me.

Her body almost pressing into mine, her lips so close to my own when she spoke, that I felt her warm, humid breath caressed my face.

"Then please... Let me return the favor." The way her voice sounded, still a little breathless, so low and filled with a new surge of desire after the orgasm I managed to give her, and the way she looked at me with almost pleading eyes, only increased the throb between my legs.

And when I saw her hands reaching out to my belt, I knew I couldn't resist anymore.

I allowed her to undo the buckle, but gently stopped her movement as soon as I found my voice once again.

"Not here," I paused, blue eyes looking at me with a hint of confusion before I continued.

"Not like this."

Keeping my eyes locked with hers, I walked backward. My back hit the cold wall in the same moment I finished to undo the belt and pulled it from the loops of my dark jeans.

"I want you on your knees."

* * *

 **...*hiding behind chair* Yes, I did it again :P**


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone!

I don't think I could ever find the words to express exactly how happy I am to know that you are enjoying this story :D Really guys, the reviews you left were so very very flattering! Thank you so much! And since you have been so incredibly generous, I wanted to show my appreciation giving you something that I hope will keep you company during the weekend :)

However, there is a small variation in this chapter. I wanted to give Alex the attention she deserved but it turned out way longer than what I expected. So in this chapter we only have Alex's POV. I hope you don't mind...

Enjoy

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I probably should have waited a few more moments for her to recover after her orgasm, because when she stood from the bed to walk towards me, I saw how she tried her best to support her weight on those long, slightly shaky legs.

But I couldn't suppress my needs any longer.

And the fact that she was looking at me with nothing but eagerness didn't make things any easier either.

I clenched the belt that in the meantime I had wrapped around my hand, feeling as it squeezed my hand so tightly that I was sure it would have left some marks, but I needed to release some of the tension I felt swelling inside of me with every passing second, proud that my face instead reflected nothing but control and firmness.

Her steps where soft on the hardwood floor, elegant after the initial adjustment.

She stopped just a few inches in front of me, so close that I could smell her scent and arousal and feel the heat emanating from her body.

I watched as she bit down on the corner of her bottom lip, her eyes focused for a second on my own lips, now pulled up in a smirk, before returning to meet my gaze when she started to descend, dropping into her knees, hands fumbling with the button and zip of my jeans, and when they were finally open, she didn't waste time, pulling them down along with my panties.

I leaned back against the wall for a moment as I kicked them for the rest of the way, almost moaning in relief just for the fact that I didn't have nothing restraining me anymore.

The mischievous smirk that spread across my face remained unseen by my guest when I caught her giving a long appreciative look at my bare legs, licking her lips when her gaze reached their apex, looking directly at my center that wasn't yet completely exposed.

I shifted slightly down, spreading a bit more my legs before I rested one foot against the wall.

The position could do, my legs were strong enough to support all of my own weight even like that, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't pleased when I felt a soft delicate hand running on my thigh, trying to get my attention, and when I looked down, I saw her gently gripping my leg behind my bent knee to bring it over her shoulder, so that I could have been not only much more exposed, but also more comfortable.

Blue eyes stared up at me as she leaned in, her other hand running on the outer side of my thigh with a hint of hesitation at first, and then more securely when she saw that I had no objection.

Her touch felt good against my skin, soft, and I could tell she enjoyed it as much as I was.

But I needed more.

And just when I thought that I couldn't wait any longer, without diverting her gaze from mine, she closed that small gap that was separating her from my center.

At the first caress of her tongue, my eyes fluttered shut, I threw my head back and my lips parted, taking in a small sip of air.

The touch was exploratory, she didn't neglect any part of me, running her tongue on my outer lips first, and only when she was sure she had gathered all the wetness there she moved through my folds.

Automatically, I spread my leg wider, a silent invitation that was immediately taken with enthusiasm, and that was when the first shiver of pure pleasure hit me.

She focused on my clit, circling it with the flat part of her tongue for a few moments to put more pressure before she went lower.

Nothing could have stopped the groan that fell from my lips, resonating in my throat and chest when the tip of that incredibly velvety tongue pushed past my tight entrance, where I was sure more of my juices had welcomed her.

What I wasn't expecting though, but that certainly pleased me and made me even more aroused, was the soft muffled moan I heard -and felt vibrating around my flesh- when she tasted me.

The hold on my thigh became firmer and her other hand also came up, caressing the outer side of my leg until she reached my waist, fingertips teasing the skin that was still covered by my shirt and then returning lower to rest just under my hip.

The soft but now more secure touch of her hands, combined with the burning heat of her tongue on my core felt so incredibly good, but instead of releasing some of the pressure I felt growing inside of me since I first laid eyes on her half naked form while she danced for me, it just left me desiring for much more.

The sweet torture I enjoyed and took so much pleasure in before, was now being overpowered by a need so primal and of such intensity that broke the chains that were restraining the hungry beast inside of me.

Maybe she felt that invisible shift in me too, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but before I could look down at her and express what I wanted, she stopped teasing me, running her tongue for my entire length one last time before she took my clit between her lips.

I almost shouted.

The pleasure I felt assaulting me as those lips sealed around my clit and started sucking, sent a series of flutters inside of me, so powerful that I felt a sudden need to hold into something.

I squeezed the belt I was still holding in my hand more tightly, feeling as the blood drained completely from my knuckles, but it wasn't enough, and when I felt that her tongue started flicking over the tip of my clit, I couldn't stop my hand from cupping the back of her head, keeping her in place, silently encouraging her to continue.

The response to my unexpected contact was immediate.

She moaned around me, doubling her efforts, gripping my thighs more firmly but still unable to keep me in place when my hips started bucking against her; seeking more of the blissful warmth of her mouth.

My fingers ran through silky blonde hair, and despite the selfishness of my movements, I couldn't ignore how that simple, almost sweet gesture contrasted so much with all the rest.

I didn't dwell on it however, especially when the pressure between my legs was growing with every passing second, feeling as my legs started to quiver under my own weight.

Taking air in my lungs was also becoming a challenge, my gasps were silent, but the groans that that very skilled mouth pulled out from me with every lick and suck weren't.

She released my clit, swirling her tongue around it one last time before going lower to gather some more of my wetness. My inner muscles clenched jealously when the tip pushed past my entrance, teasing me, wishing to feel more, but I welcomed the sensation nonetheless.

I could feel the whisper of my approaching orgasm becoming louder.

I was more close than what I thought.

The delicious strokes of that tongue, the pressure that I felt when those lips sealed around me had me buck my hips even harder, forcing her to follow my own selfish and quick rhythm.

Drops of sweat ran down my neck, slipping between my breasts and gathering on my abdomen, where I felt the material of the shirt clinging to my skin.

Heat raised from the pit of my stomach, reaching my face and at the same time causing goosebumps to rise on the back of my neck.

For an instant, I found the strength to open my eyes, barely, and my gaze shifted immediately down, meeting what I was hoping to see.

Blue eyes were looking up at me, never stopping her movement, and I wondered for how long she had been watching me, but the thought only made me feel even more aroused.

And after seeing how those orbs had darkened in the moment I looked down at her through my half lidded eyes, I reached my peak.

A wordless deep cry left my throat as I tightened the hold I had on the back of her head, fisting her hair in my hand and feeling as my hips bucked uncontrollably against her mouth, seeking as much contact as I could to prolong the breathtaking pleasure that was coursing through my veins.

I rested my head back against the wall, my eyes still closed, my lips parted trying to intake the air that had been stolen from my lungs as I rode through my incredibly powerful release.

I held nothing back.

And the young blonde woman that was still knelt between my legs seemed more than happy to take everything I had to give, never stopping her swirling motion with her tongue over my clit even when I had fisted her hair in a grip that I now suspected must have been at least a bit painful.

After a few more moments, her licks and strokes became weaker, guiding me gently through the aftershock and following my recovery until I was spent.

I tried to contain my pants, regulating my breathing into a normal rhythm.

Even if I had just climaxed, I didn't want to take too much time and neglect my guest.

My eyes fluttered open and I tilted my head slightly down to look at her.

I felt her tongue running delicately through my folds, causing another flutter in my lower abdomen and pulling a soft groan from my parted lips in a strange mix of arousal and overstimulation before I cupped her cheek with my hand, softly, urging her to open her eyes and meet my gaze.

She complied immediately, and when those eyes opened to meet mine, I could see how much the black of the pupils had swallowed the blue, leaving just a barely visible ring surrounding it.

I guessed it was because of the poor illumination of the room, but part of me was more inclined to think it was because of another reason, and to my immense delight, when I saw her licking her lips suggestively, cleaning and tasting every trace of me left there except the glistening patch on her chin, I thought that maybe the idea that she had actually enjoyed it, wasn't only in my head.

She leaned in as if she wanted to lick some more wetness from my center, but I stopped her an inch away from me, softly stroking her cheek until her eyes reconnected with my own.

"I gave you everything I had sweetheart," I said, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

A flash of disappointment flashed across her features for a second, and a moment later she blushed, realizing that I had seen it.

A smirk tugged at my lips. "But since you have been so good and made me come so hard," I paused, my voice sounding so much raspy and deep after my orgasm, that I barely recognized it as my own.

"I think it would be rude of me to not show how much I've appreciated your attentions."

Her eyes widened slightly as she took her bottom lip between her teeth in a vain attempt to contain a soft moan, and when I heard it, it was like all the pressure I had managed to relieve a few minutes before, had suddenly returned to me, only this time it wasn't a need directed to my own pleasure.

I lifted my leg from where it was still resting over her shoulder, barely managing in keeping my tug on the back of her neck still gentle until she stood from the kneeling position on her slightly shaky legs.

Once she was up, I turned her around, and in a swift movement I had her front pressed against the wall, my body resting tightly behind hers.

She gasped at the sudden show of dominance, but she didn't object or tried to fight me.

I made sure she didn't collide face first on the wall, but just being pressed against it;

I certainly didn't want to scare or hurt my guest in any way, and the rough movement was all for show, to let her know that I had her and that it was my turn to take what I wanted.

What I needed.

With Sylvia I made sure to establish some basic rules in order to enjoy ourselves in a safe and healthy way. She knew she could stop me anytime if things got a little out of hand, and even if it never happened, I knew she wouldn't have had any problem with that.

But what I was wondering, was if she had also explained that same rule to the young lady that I was now pressing against the wall before she sent her here to entertain me.

I considered to ask her, knowing that with this kind of things certainty was highly required, and you never risked to ask too many times. Make sure that my guest was willing to proceed and that she would have eventually expressed her reluctance to do something, became a priority for me in that moment.

I've never took any kind of pleasure in hurting a woman.

And even if I wasn't planning to do anything extreme, with that thought in mind, I loosened the hold I had on the belt that was still wrapped tightly around my hand, letting it fall on the hardwood floor, deciding against the idea of using it to restrain her...

At least for this time, that was also the first for her with me.

I swallowed, bringing some moisture in my dry throat before I leaned in, moving to the side a few locks of golden hair from her elegant neck, feeling her shivering against me when my warm breath caressed her skin as I whispered softly just a few inches below her ear.

"Do you know the rules?"

My other hand came up to rest on the swell of her hip, stroking the skin there with my thumb in a soothing, almost tender gesture, wanting to bring reassurance as I waited for an answer.

Her face was turned towards me, her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. "Yes..." Came out the soft reply.

It should have been enough, but for me it wasn't. And instead of asking what she was told, knowing that she was probably feeling a bit nervous, I decided to explain them to her anyway, using few simple words.

"I want you to enjoy this as much as I do," I stated, my hands continued their journey up to her sides, slowly sliding forward to caress her flat smooth stomach, feeling as the muscles twitched under my touch when she took in a shallow breath.

"And if I'm doing something you don't like," I continued, unclasping her bra, taking it off of her slowly and then letting it fall on the floor leaving her completely naked.

"I want you to tell me that immediately," My hands returned to her, cupping her breasts and giving a suggestive squeeze before pinching the hard little buds of her nipples between my fingers, hearing as her breath hitched in her throat at the contact.

"Alright?"

I concluded placing a soft, almost imperceptible kiss on her jaw, pulling back with a satisfied smirk when I heard a small whimper falling from her lips at the loss of contact, feeling as she pushed her hips back against me in the moment my hand returned to tease her inner thigh, so close to her center, yet so distant.

The way her body seemed to respond to my touch should have been a good enough answer for me, but I wanted to hear her say it.

"Should I take that as a yes?" I asked, deliberately lowering my voice before I took her earlobe between my teeth, barely resisting the urge to suck it into my mouth.

Another series of shivers ran through her, and I pulled back just in time to see as those blue eyes fluttered open and looked at me through half closed lids, and into them, I read nothing but eagerness and desire. "Yes... Mistress."

After hearing that, all my doubts and any other coherent thought was pushed out of my mind with a new, unstoppable rush of arousal.

A low guttural groan resonated in my throat as I gripped her inner thigh to spread her legs further a part while my other hand was resting between her legs from behind, palm up cupping her, fingertips already coated in her wetness.

She was dripping.

I ran my fingers through her folds, causing another long moan to escape from her lips, feeling how slick and invitingly warm she was.

But what I felt with a first touch, was nothing compared to what I felt when two of my fingers slipped inside of her, encountering no resistance and being immediately welcomed by silky wet heat clamping down tightly around me.

For a few seconds nothing existed but that blissful sensation.

And the loud cries, the moans and groans that fell from our lips as I started to pump my fingers in and out of her, were nothing but some distant barely audible whispers.

* * *

 **I know... *sigh* I'm still working on the whole 'how-to-end-a-chapter-without-a-cliffhanger' thing...**


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there!

I'm back with another chapter for you :) Returning back to normal with both Piper's and Alex's POV and yeah... Things are still a little smutty :P

Enjoy

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I thought that with my orgasm I would have released all the tightness I felt in my lower abdomen ever since that piercing gaze landed on my half naked body.

But I was wrong.

The pressure I felt after my own failure to get off was gone, but it was replaced by a new, stronger and more pleasant one that kept growing ever since that mouth, those rosy plump lips and that talented tongue had brought me into what could only have been described as a mind-blowing orgasm.

Having my face buried between her legs with her wetness covering my mouth and her addictive taste lingering on my tongue, trying to pull every drop out of her while she took her pleasure grinding her core against me, made me consider more than once to reach down and touch myself, knowing that this time it wouldn't have left me unsatisfied.

That thought almost became a real action when I felt her fisting my hair in a strong grip a split second before she came with my lips sealed around her.

When she pressed me against the wall I was already soaked, but when I heard her whispering in my ear, felt the secure touch of her hands all over me, cupping my breasts, teasing my nipples, but most of all feeling as her strong form was perfectly leaned behind mine, at that point, I could feel my own juices running down the inside of my thigh.

The light stretch I felt when her fingers pushed past my entrance, made me sob quietly in relief.

It felt so incredibly good.

So deliciously right.

She gave me just a few seconds for me to adjust to the new very welcomed intrusion, before -to my immense delight- she started pumping in and out of me in a steady rhythm.

My inner muscles clenched possessively around her every time she pushed back in, the next thrust always harder than the previous, reaching a new, deeper place inside of me with every stroke.

"God, you're so wet," Not for the first time since she had me pressed against the wall, a powerful shiver ran through my body when her warm breath caressed the side of my neck as that deep, lust filled, husky voice caused another series of flutters around the fingers buried inside of me.

She growled because she felt it too. "And you are so tight."

With every breath I took in, a new louder moan left my lips whenever I exhaled.

My hands itched to hold into something, _anything_ but being forced to brace myself on the cold wall, especially when a warm strong comforting body was pressed so close behind me.

And even if a great part of me was frustrated for not being able to reach out and have a minimal contact, the other was more than willing to remain there and take whatever she had planned for me.

At first, the thought surprised me...

But it aroused me more.

The way she felt against me, around me, _inside_ me... It was like feeling two forces of opposite nature collide.

While her thrusts were hard, rough and unforgiving, bordering the point of pain, making me hiss under my breath only to let a moan escape when she pushed back in and hit that same spot over and over, her other hand, the one that moved from the light grip on my hip, to my front, softly stroking my stomach, only to reach my breast and cupping it in a delicate hold, showed nothing but pure gentleness.

The combination of roughness and tenderness made my head spin, and soon, my body was arching into her touch, my hips rocking back to meet every thrust, seeking a need that didn't go unnoticed to my hostess.

A low dangerous groan caressed the sheel of my ear. "You have already made a mess of my hand," She paused, thrusting even more forcefully inside of me and making me scream in pleasure when her fingertips hit again that delicious spot. "But I bet you have way more to give me."

My cheeks burned with a mix of embarassment and arousal, but I couldn't object at the truth of her words.

"Please..." Trying to suppress it was near to impossible, and my plea came out in a quiet sob.

This time she leaned in, lightly pressing her nose on my neck, and groaning against my sweaty skin before she pulled out, leaving me empty for an entire agonizing second, only to push back in, adding a third finger, stretching me so deliciously that my pleasure skyrocketed.

I screamed at the ceiling, throwing my head back, and unable to keep my hands flat against the wall, I reached back instinctively when I felt my legs threatening to give up under my own weight, placing my hand on one long very toned leg.

For a second I forgot to breath, not knowing if my hostess would have appreciated the contact, but started breathing again, releasing a long moan, when I heard her groaning against my neck and cupping my breast more tightly in her hand as she started thrusting even harder than before, hitting that spot over and over and making me tremble in her arms.

With a wave of relief washing over me, knowing that my touch was welcomed, I couldn't stop my hand from exploring the smooth skin I found there even if the position wasn't the best, feeling how warm she was and fascinated by how those powerful muscles flexed under my fingertips.

Suddenly, she changed the angle, so that the fingers pumping inside of me could have put even more pressure on that magic spot on my front wall.

My moans and pants mixed together in a sound I had never heard coming from my mouth before, feeling as my throat went dry, heat raised all over my neck and cheeks.

I was almost there.

But a great part of me was enjoying this so much that I didn't want it to end.

The raven haired woman however had other plans as she too felt my climax approaching. She released my breast, her hand went lower, caressing my stomach until she reached my shaved mound, and then the hard bud of my clit that was there waiting for her attentions.

She nuzzled my neck to whisper right against my jaw. "Don't fight it kid,"

That new unexpected term of endearment caused a sudden explosion of powerful flutters that ran from my stomach to my center.

And maybe it was that that froze me for a split second with her buried so deep inside of me that was all I could feel, or the fact that she had reached around with her other hand and her fingers had just given a few quick strokes over my clit, or maybe it was hearing that raspy deep voice encouraging me further as she said "Let it go... Give it to me."

All I knew, was that when that second broke, everything came crashing down as I shouted the peak of my pleasure into the room, empting my lungs of all the air I had left and releasing the pressure I had inside of me all over her hand.

She kept thrusting into me, circling my clit under dexterous fingers, and when she felt the first gush of warmth running down her hand, she increased her pace, letting out a low dangerous growl before biting down on the sensitive skin of my neck.

The bite made me come even harder, sending me over another series of flutters; my inner muscles clenched repeatedly around those long skilled fingers pressed so deep inside of me, trying to keep her there.

My body convulsed with aftershocks, barely standing on my own shaky legs and wishing to lean into something, when her deep voice reached my ears.

"That's was quite impressive, but..." She paused, suddenly pulling out of me and making me whimper at the loss, but I didn't have the time or the strenght to protest and beg to have her back inside, because with another swift movement, she spun me around so that my back was pressed against the wall and I was facing her.

I remained in apnea for all the time, releasing my breath only when I felt her fingers stretching me once again. For a second my eyes fluttered shut at the blissful sensation of being filled again, feeling my inner muscles clenching even tightly than before around her, but then I opened them, and to my immense surprise, I felt a strange sense of relief in meeting those green eyes, that in the meantime had become brighter, like two shining emeralds.

"I know you are still full," I was so lost in whatever I felt when my eyes met hers, that I almost didn't catch what she said, but when she wiggled her fingers inside of me, pressing against my front wall, my breath hitched in my throat and my inner muscles fluttered around her.

"I can feel it." She added at the end, her voice so low, dripping with lust that even if I had just came, didn't fail to send another pang of arousal to my core, making my legs tremble under my weight.

She noticed it, and she managed to surprise me once again when, without diverting her gaze from mine, she took a hold on my wrist and placed my hand over her strong broad shoulder.

"I want to take you like this... But I don't want you to fall." A playful smirk appeared on those full lips, and without realizing it, my other hand came up to rest on her other shoulder to keep myself balanced.

My throat felt dry and sore from when I screamed my previous orgasm, but even if it wasn't for those reason, words would have failed me anyway, and actually I was so incredibly glad that a second later she started thrusting in and out of me, gripping my thigh and lifting it to rest around her waist to spread me further and give her more space to move her hand.

My eyes fluttered shut and my hold around her neck tightened when the palm of her hand hit my clit, making me moan and causing her to lean in closer to me.

So close that I could smell her scent mixed with my arousal in the air, and was just in that moment that I realized how close I was to come again. My hips were already meeting every one of her thrusts and my breaths were becoming more and more shallow; maybe it was the fact that I didn't had time to completely recover from my previous orgasm, or maybe was the sensation that her body pressed so close against mine brought a comfort that both surprised, aroused and made me feel something I couldn't quite describe, but before I knew it, I was already standing on the edge, wating for that extra push. Craving it like air.

I felt her leaning in, realizing how close we were when her warm breath caressed my throat,sending pure electricity down my spine.

"I know you are close," She hooked her fingers to hit that same spot that was swelling with need, making me shout in the room and buck my hips to try and take her deeper.

"I want to feel you come around me again," She whispered hotly in my ear, biting down not so gently on the skin there and tasting the saltiness of my sweat when her tongue peeked out to lick that inch below my jaw.

The pleasure that gesture caused, increased even more my arousal. And the sensation of her fingers hooked inside of me combined with the one of having her resting so close when she leaned back, feeling out noses touching and her breath caressing my cheek, was too much.

I knew which was the extra push that would have sent me flying over the edge.

I thought I was the one that leaned in for the rest of the way, but I was wrong.

And when I realized that actually she was the one that claimed my lips in a hungry fervent kiss, swallowing my screams and moans after she hooked her fingers inside me one last time and forced her tongue in my mouth, I came.

 **. . .**

My flavor was still lingering on her lips, mixed with her unique taste and just a barely perceptible hint of wine, but the sweetness I felt when her tongue embraced mine, was all hers.

Her arms tightened the hold around my shoulders, trying to bring me closer despite the fact that we were already as close as possible, and the leg resting around my waist did the same as her hips bucked wildly against my hand, trying to take my fingers deeper, feeling as her inner muscles protested whenever I pulled out even if it was just to push back in a second later.

Her juices slipped through my fingers, coating my hand and reaching my wrist, almost forcing me out of her, but I just kept thrusting, ignoring the burn of exertion and focusing instead in pulling every drop out of her.

She felt so incredibly good around me, so tight, so warm, but most of all, she was so responsive to my touch that I couldn't help the light swell of pride I felt when she came for the third time because of me.

After a few long seconds, the flutters around my fingers became weaker, moving in and out was becoming easier, but that also meant that her climax was slowly fading and the idea to pull out from that blissful warmth made me a bit reluctant, even if my hand and part of my thigh were covered with her release.

Our lips remained locked in a kiss that was surprisingly accurate despite the heat of the moment. Fighting for dominance was pointless since I forced my tongue into her mouth; she was more than willing to let me control the kiss, but the way she responded to me, feeling as our lips moved in complete sync and our flavors mixed together to create such an incredible taste that was definitely made of desire, started a brief but intense shiver, that ran through my whole body, making my fingertips tingle with an unknown sensation.

And just as it arrived, when air became necessary and we had to part, it was already gone.

When I pulled back, she was panting, her eyes were closed, her skin glistening with drops of sweat and her arms still resting around my shoulders in a loose embrace.

She was spent.

The weak flutters were now completely gone, but my fingers remained there just a moment longer, enjoying that velvety wet heat that was still hugging me tightly.

A small hiss and a whimper caressed my cheek when I started to pull out, knowing that she was feeling a bit of discomfort. Her eyes fluttered open and they immediately met mine.

"It's okay," I comforted her, delicately running my hand over the smooth skin of her thigh where I was holding her.

I was about to say that I was going to do it slowly in order to prevent any pain, but her eyes shifted slightly down to look briefly at my lips, only to return to me with a new, almost timid look on her face.

Fighting a smirk, I took the hint and leaned in to claim her lips once again, pleased to feel that she relaxed enough for me to start to pull out, slowly, until my fingers were welcomed by the contrasting cool air of the room, but at that point, I almost didn't notice it, just like she didn't seem to have noticed the fact that I was no longer inside of her.

The deep but definitely less hungry kiss had apparently managed to distract both of us.

I don't know how long we remained there continuing to explore each other mouth, but at some point I realized that her leg was no longer hooked around my waist, her hands were now on my back, while one of mine was keeping her pressed against the wall from her hip.

It was only when my other hand, the one that had been between her legs only a few minutes before, came up to rest on the curve of her waist, that she pulled back from the deep exploratory kiss to look down where I had touched her.

At first I was confused, but when I saw a furious blush starting from her neck and rising up to her face where an almost horrified look had appeared, then I realized she had felt how wet and warm my hand was, and that could only have been explained in one way.

"Oh God," She gasped looking up at me with embarassement. "I'm so sorry-"

I interrupted her unnecessary apology with a deep chuckle and a smirk tugging at my lips.

"Don't be," I reassured her. "It pleases me to know you have enjoyed this as much as I did."

I concluded throwing her a wink, seeing that her eyes remained wide as she blushed even more and tried to divert her gaze from mine.

I took a small step back, then another when her eyes finally returned to me.

"But if you want to clean the mess you have made on me," I raised my hand so that it rested right between us. "You are more than welcome to do it."

This time her eyes widened but not because of embarassement.

They darkened into a deeper shade of blue, and the blush faded away as she took my hand and brought my fingers up to her lips, taking them into her mouth before sucking them clean.

There was no need to wait for an answer this time, the way she moaned and licked her lips suggestively after she pulled my fingers out of her mouth was more than enough.

And I smirked, wodering where that shy young woman who had appeared a minute before, had disappeared in such a short time, but very pleased that her eager part was still there looking more than ready for whatever I had planned for her next.

* * *

 **Don't worry guys, this story isn't just about sexy moments... And you'll know more about these two very soon :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone!

So, I think I made you wait long enough for this chapter and here it is, ready to answer some of your questions. But first I wanted to say that this isn't just a smut story, and the fact that the first chapters were filled with sex scenes was because I simply can't imagine Alex doing some things very quickly, on the opposite, I think she likes to take her time and enjoy every minute, and this is also why I wanted to take mine and don't rush things and write something that I wasn't sure about or didn't like. I hope this explained my previous decisions...

Anyway, thank you for being patient guys :)

And also a special thanks to Vausemaniac for your constant support, I enjoy so much our Vauseman chats, so... This chapter is for you :)

Enjoy

* * *

The temperature had dropped of a few more degrees when I exited from the majestic chateau, making my way down the same garden path I had admired when I arrived and spotting the limousine that would have accompanied me at home parked just behind the open gate.

The sky was dark and incredibly clean, making possible to see a bunch of stars here and there, something that in the city was near to impossible, but here, away from the cars exhaust and that thick blanket of smog, it wasn't, and for as simple as that sight was, it actually amazed me for a moment.

I was brought back from my thoughts when I heard the door of the limousine opening, revealing the driver that exited only to open the door for me to get in and then returning behind the steering wheel.

"You okay, hon?"

The voice of the driver startled me a bit, but I looked up into the rearview mirror, meeting a pair of kind and warm dark eyes that held just a hint of concern.

I smiled reassuring and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine... Thank you."

A short nod and a smile was all I received before starting the car and heading towards the city.

I relaxed in the back seat, staring out of the window for all the drive, seeing the city spreading more and more in front of me, with its high buildings, the blinding lights and the caos of a place that never sleeps.

But despite the constant noise and the high rate of criminality, I loved staying in this city.

I came here because of the infinite things it had to offer, which were all the things I needed, to keep following my greatest passion; the culture, the various mixed cultures coming from all around the world, the history that was behind every monument...

New York was no ancient or full of story like any of the european cities, but it was the capital of the universe.

A small smile appeared on my face thinking about all the places I had been since I got here, all the museums, the galleries and libraries I had visited multiple times, and where I could have spent all day.

But just as it appeared, that small smile disappeared with that same persistent sense of sadness that brought me in a deeper and darker place every day.

Because when I first came here, I would have never imagined things turning out the way they did. I was just too focused and so determined in what I wanted, secure that I didn't need help from anybody, that my naiveness had the better on me, and now, I had to pay the price for that mistake.

Litteraly.

"We are here."

I had to blink several times to clean my mind from those dark thoughts, realizing that the limo had stopped and we were already parked outside my apartment building.

I echaled softly through my nose, capturing the attention of the driver once again.

"Are you sure you are okay?"

I could hear sincere concern in that voice and I couldn't help but smile even if a little tiredly at the petite woman whom had turned in her seat to look at me.

"Yeah, don't worry... Just a little tired." I settled for simple, for polite, glad that I could mask my real emotions so easily despite the sudden grey clouds my thoughts had caused in my already-filled-with-problems mind.

She returned my small smile, not looking very convinced by my answer but not wanting to push further. "Of course. Try to get some sleep, hon."

I thanked her for the ride, pulling out the keys from my purse before I exited, not surprised that the first noise I registered was the siren of a police car in the distance and the smell of cinese food from the ever open resturant around the corner.

It was only when I stepped into my small apartment, locking the door behind me, that I realized exactly how tired I was. That night had been one of the most intenses I had had in a while, but strangely enough, it didn't seem fair to compare my last appointment with the ones I had over the six months I had been in this business.

I dropped my purse and keys on the couch along with the coat, heading to the bedroom to take off the rest of my clothes.

There was definitely something different about how things went that night, since the moment I stepped into the house I felt an unknown sensation growing inside of me; I didn't know how to describe it, but I knew it wasn't unpleasant. It was wrapped up in a blanket of mystery and fascination by what I saw surrounding me, and the feeling only became more persistent once I had encountered the dark haired woman with piercing green eyes.

That same warm shiver ran up my spine when my mind brought me back to a few hours previous, remembering the way she looked at me intently when I was dancing, the way I could feel that gaze burning my skin when I was laying on the bed touching myself, and then...

A flutters started in my lower abdomen, surprising me, when I remembered that secure but also delicate touch sending me several times into a dimension made of pure pleasure.

I went into the bathroom, looking at my reflection in the mirror, seeing a small irregular red circle formed on the side of my neck, remembering how she bit me while I was coming.

Generally, I hated when someone left signs on my body, but this... My hand went up, gingerly touching the sensitive area with my fingertips.

I couldn't find a reason why, but this small bite didn't bother me, at all.

Maybe it was because I had actually enjoyed it, or maybe it was the fact that I had never had someone paying so much attention to my needs like she had taken care of mine, more than I had occasion to do with hers.

...Maybe it was because she was a woman.

However I decide to analize it, all I could feel, were a strange combination of emotions, that went from surprise, to that same unexpected sense of delight, derived by the realization that for the first time, I didn't have to fake it with a client.

The first thing I would have usually done after arriving home, would have been taking a long hot shower to try to forget what I just had just done.

I tried to tell myself I didn't take one that night because I was too tired, but the truth I kept hidden inside of me, was that also for the first time after I had entertained someone, I didn't feel dirty.

...I didn't feel ashame.

I just freshened up where I needed the most, wearing a loose shirt and a pair of sweatpants before making my way on the desk in my bedroom.

I allowed a small sense of relief to wash over me for a moment when I noticed the much smaller pile of letters and bills gathered on the corner, which this time consisted in just two envelopes coming from the same institute.

I took a seat on the chair, pulling my legs under me and switching on the lamp to have a bit more of illumination.

12:48 am I read on the clock resting beside the stack of books, unable to suppress a small yawn, but determined in staying up a bit longer as I opened the familiar book with the worn cover to where I had left the mark last time.

Der Blaue Reiter.

A small smile appeared on my lips when I read the name of the group of artists that I needed to study before my exam, feeling as my problems slowly started to dissipate, losing their meaning into the evocative power of the colors.

 **. . .**

The first thing I saw when I walked into the kitchen the next morning -and that actually startled me a bit- was the mass of blonde-reddish hair of my best friend resting on the long countertop.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." I said through a chuckle taking a seat across from her.

A low grunt was all I received back along with a steaming cup of coffee that she slid slowly towards me without raising her head from the marble surface.

I didn't know if she was just trying to hide her face from the sun rays that were streaming through the large window behind me, but I doubted it was just for that reason.

"Sleep well?" I asked after taking the first sip of coffee.

The half humorous tone I deliberately used in my question didn't go unnoticed by my friend, whom for the first time since I entered the kitchen finally raised her head, throwing at me a nasty look through half lidded eyes.

"Should I start with the part where I had fallen blissfully asleep, or with the one where I was woken up by molesting noises and ear piercing screams?" She asked with nothing but total calm.

I hid my shit eating grin into the cup, taking a small sip of coffee before pulling it away with a perfectly innocent smile, that for it being on my face, was enough for being incredibly suspicious.

"I don't know what are you talking about..."

She tried to hold my gaze, but eventually she gave up and started chuckling softly, making me smile for her reaction.

"Jesus, did she at least left on her own legs?" And there she was, the ever curious friend I knew so well.

"Nicky..." I warned her, giving her a murderous look that would have scared to death anyone, but that apparently, after years spent with me around, to my friend had no longer that kind of effect.

"I saw her you know, she had a great pair of legs... Better than Sylvia's, and she seemed nice too,"

I sighed, rubbing my eyes with one hand under my glasses as I listened to her, knowing that she wasn't going to stop any time soon unless I was going to say something.

"She was nice, yes," I started, remembering very clearly the previous night and how much I enjoyed the company of the blonde woman. "A bit younger than what I'm used to but-"

Just as I expected, she interrupted me before I could finish.

"And we know how much you _hate_ to take full advantage of young, pretty and innocent looking girls, sister... Shame on you!"

I laughed, more for how she had said it with sarcasm and that pretended accusatory look of her face than for anything else.

But I knew I should have expected even something else when she paused for a little longer, and she proved me right when she asked "...I bet your tongue's been in her pussy before than in her mouth, isn't that right Miss Gentleman?"

"Nicky!"

This time my look worked, and she raised her hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright..."

I sighed running a hand through my still slightly damp hair, rolling my eyes and shaking my head in amusement when I heard her starting to talk once again like nothing happened.

"Anyway, she seemed a bit nervous when she arrived, just wanted to make sure everything was alright..." A pause, and I could hear the sincerity of her concern in her voice.

"She also seemed very interested in your collection of paintings."

At that I pulled away the cup from my lips, lifting an eyebrow and tilting my head to the side with curiosity.

"Really?"

She nodded at me before explaining with a soft smile. "Almost tripped over herself watching the one in the hallway."

That same smile she gave me appeared on my lips when I thought about the surrealist landscape hanging by the wall; a Salvador Dalì, one of my mother's favourites.

A small lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it down with the last sip of coffee, blinking a few times to clean my suddenly blurred vision before I spoke, deciding to change the subject from an argument that was still painful for me.

"I'm sorry about last night Nicky... I-"

But she interrupted me again with a snort and a dismissive gesture of her hand.

"Ahh, don't worry about it... The only thing that I can't understand is why a beautiful, smart, incredibly sexy and powerful woman like you can't go out and find a girlfriend, but prefers to have an high class escort coming over twice, three times a week."

I let out another sigh, this discussion with Nicky came up several times in the last few months and I couldn't find a way for her to let just drop the subject.

"Seriously Al," She continued encouragingly. "If you would go out, I'm sure that the government agencies wouldn't be the only ones to court you to get your attention..."

I laughed at that, only half humorously. "Every agency is just courting me so they'll have someone that will get their hands dirty for them."

I watched as she stood from the stool where she was sitting to reach my side.

"They court you because of your skills, and you have plenty of them." She winked at me making me chuckle quietly for a moment before I decided to offer her the same answer I had ready every other time.

"I don't want to get attached to someone, Nicky. With my job..." My voice trailed off. "It's just... better this way, believe me."

She let out an exasperated sigh, but said nothing. Deep down, she knew I was right.

"So," I cleared my throat softly. "Speaking of work..."

She gave me one last concerned look before she turned to go and grab a folder from the table behind her, opening it and starting to pull out ID and various documents.

I picked up the drive license she handed to me before she gave me the details about the new contract while I studied the alias I would have been for the day. Studing the lies that were printed next to a picture of me with dyed red hair.

If someone asked me who I was, that day my name was Lucy McPherson, age 35.

Picking up another document, still listening to what Nicky was saying, I saw that I was also a computer engineer.

Suddenly Nicky's tone became softer, almost tentative, capturing my attention with a bit of concern.

"...The Chief of the Bureau asked for you again, they want to know if you will consider their offer, Alex."

I looked up at her. I knew she could see the reluctance in my eyes, as much as I could see the worry in hers, and I knew she just wanted the best for me.

After so many years of doing this job, the idea of retiring and doing something more honorable... Was actually tempting.

"Tell them that I'll let them know." I said at last standing from the stool and grabbing the ID and documents I needed before heading towards the front door, hearing as Nicky said a concerned "Stay safe" behind me.

Part of me, still loved my job.

Hunting men down, dangerous criminals, all around the world with the blessing of every intelligence agency, and with all the resources I could ever wanted at my fingertips...

The rush of adrenaline that caused was like nothing else.

But all the power didn't make me any better than the ones I hunted down.

Deep down I knew I was no different from them.

Maybe I wasn't a real criminal.

...But I still remained an assassin.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi there!

So, yeah... A few things have been revealed in the previous chapter and I'm so glad you enjoyed it :D Really guys, thank you so much for all the kind reviews :)

Here's a new chapter for you.

Enjoy

* * *

I was sore.

Like _incredibly_ sore.

Even two days after my last appointment, and the previous afternoon, when I was returning at home after class, I had waited for everyone else to leave the lecture hall before I stood and started walking in a very funny way towards the subway.

I raised my head, rubbing my tired eyes before shifting my gaze from the open books and notes in front of me to look outside my bedroom window.

It was becoming darker, clouds were covering the early evening sky and drops of rain were starting to fall.

A tired sigh escaped from my lips, only to turn into a slight hiss when I shifted in my position on the chair. But the soreness I felt between my legs wasn't the only thing that kept following me from two nights previous.

I had to recross my legs when I felt that that same ache started to grow into something else when a few memories flashed in my mind, bringing with them all the sensations, as if I was re-experiencing every moment.

The first thing I felt was a strong, powerful flutter starting in my lower abdomen that didn't fail in raising my body tempeature of a couple of deegres in less than two seconds, making me part my lips in a sudden, desperate need of air.

The sensation was so intense that my eyes fluttered shut, only to snap open once again when a tall figure with long black hair, alabaster skin and a pair of bright green eyes appeared in front of me.

I shook my head, trying to clean my mind from those images, rubbing my eyes once again before I decided to focus on the description of the painting in front of me, convinced that keeping my mind occupied would have been enough to push away those images and the sensations derived from them.

...I was wrong.

Usually, the love and passion I had for art was enough to block away anything else to come near me when I was absorbed in a distant time, imagining to see the work through the eyes of the artist, trying to comprehend the emotional state they were in when they were painting the piece in front of me.

But this time, beside my constant hunger and curiosity to know and to feel what this painting meant and caused in me, there was a new force that was trying to push forward in my mind.

It was unstoppable.

Overwhelming. But most of all, despite how much I tried to fight it, I couldn't ignore how plesant it was. Just like the soreness resting between my legs, that had suddenly turned into a very familiar ache; a need that I knew wouldn't have left me until I would have taken care of it.

My eyes were open, but the words in front of me didn't make sense anymore, nor did the fragmented and disordered pieces of Les demoiselles d'Avignon, because all I could see, were flickering flames on a marble fireplace dancing to create shadows all around me; all I could feel was the contrast of the cold wall where my back was pressed, against the comforting warmth of a strong body supporting me.

And at that point, I allowed my eyes to flutter shut as I leaned back against the chair, giving up any effort to push away those overwhelming sensations and just drown into them, feeling as my hand went lower, tentatively, sliding under the waistband of my sweatpants, gasping softly when I felt the warm wet patch that had already formed on the center of my underwear.

I bit down on my bottom lip as I put a bit of more pressure on my clit through the thin cotton material, circling it tentatively and holding the air in my lungs until they started to burn, and then I exhaled, releasing a trembling breath full of tension.

I wanted to prove to myself that it was nothing, that I could resist it and go back to study.

But the answer my body gave to me after my own innocent stimulation, was the exact opposite of what I hoped.

If a second before I thought I needed it, now, I felt my body demanding it, and just the idea of not getting that kind of relief, was unthinkable.

My hand slid past the waistband of my panties, gripping the side of the chair with my other hand when my fingertips met the hard little bud of my slick clit, and just like that, the gesture was enough to bring me back into two nights before, when I had done this last time.

Suddenly, I was no longer in my bedroom...

Silky smooth sheets rested under me in a large luxurious bed.

The sound of a crackling fire reached my ears along with the low volume of the soft music coming from the stereo. And the air in the room was filled with the scent of my arousal.

I started a circular motion, feeling a bit frustrated for how slick I was, deciding to use two fingers so that I could have put more pressure.

But my mind didn't feel my fingers, didn't feel the hand resting between my legs, because it wasn't mine the touch on my center.

A warm breath caressed my inner thigh making me shiver both in and out of my imagination, making me moan out loud when I felt a velvety tongue gather the juices pooling at my entrance, licking my entire length before taking me between a pair of incredibly soft lips.

I felt as those lips sealed around me, sucking me, softly, releasing me a moment later only for that tongue to return and lick me once again, slowly, so deliciously and torturously slowly that it was all I could feel, along with the muscles in my ass and thighs flexing, and my hips starting a rocking motion that I couldn't control.

The warmth of that mouth was just so inviting, the pulls of those lips so addictive, the swirl of that tongue so accurate.

A new sensation registered after a few seconds, the one of strong but gentle hands around my thighs, parting my legs further when that same talented tongue went down to push past my entrance.

I welcomed that sensation immediately, feeling as my inner muscles clamped down around the intrusion, trying to keep it there. My body started to quiver and a long deep moan resonated into my chest when I felt the tip pushing in deeper, tasting more of my arousal.

One of the hands that were holding me shifted, exploring my leg, going up to gently stroke the skin on my hip, then my waist, until it reached my abdomen, making the muscles there twitch at the contact before they tensed with a sense of anticipation when that same hand went lower to rest just over my mound.

The other version of me in my head couldn't resist but look down just when I felt a thumb running quick circles over my clit. I already knew who I would have met, but finding a pair of green emerald eyes watching directly at me, shining with the look of desire I had seen there for all the night two nights previous, caused so many sensations inside of me, mixed together in just as many combinations, that it was almost impossible to know what I was feeling except for the immeasurable pleasure that I was experiencing.

It was too much.

My body tensed for one last time, before shattering into the million of pieces that was my climax.

Recovering from the intesity of my release took longer than the time I had actually used to reach it.

I kept touching myself through the aftershock, gradually regaining my breath, slowly feeling how the rational part of my mind started to pull me out of my imagination, until the last traces of my orgasm were completely gone and my eyes fluttered open, bringing me back in my bedroom, on my chair in front of a desk filled with books and notes, hearing how the rain was now tapping louder on the glass of the window, causing me to shiver when I thought about the warmth that I felt surrounding my body only a minute before.

I pulled myself up, retiring the hand from my underwear and only in that moment feeling exactly how uncomfortably wet I was.

But that sensation was nothing compared to the one that started pouding in my head with the same intensity I could still feel my heart pounding in my chest, that only increased when the realization of what I had just done hit me like a punch in the stomach, a punch that was surprisingly both pleasant and that caused me embarrassment.

I tried to recompose myself, swallowing hard to try -unsuccessfully- to get rid of that stubborn sensation stuck in my throat, before I buried myself into my books once again like nothing happened, and doing my best to push away the reminder that I had just touched myself while replaying the events and reliving the sensations of that night.

I blinked a few times to clean my mind, letting my gaze land once again on Les demoiselles d'Avignon, and I suddenly felt a bit more embarrassed from my last actions when I looked at these five naked prostitutes, sadly realizing, that after all, I was no different from them.

The picture in my book didn't give any justice to the original piece that I had seen many times in the Museum of Modern Art, but once again, just when my thoughts were starting to drag me in that same dark place of my mind, the meaning that Picasso gave to this painting brought a bit of light through those thick grey clouds.

The people I'd been with, might have seen me just like an escort, but they saw me fragmented, distorted, just like the rappresentation of these five women.

The real and only way to see whom I really was, was the one to learn me, and know me.

But the voice in my head didn't remain quite as that explaination brough along another thought.

The thought that for the first time, even if just intimately, someone had tried to learn me, to listen to me, and to the needs of my body.

I felt a strange sense of comfort analizing things in this way, it still didn't soothe my mind completely, but it was enough for me to return to my studies for the rest of the evening.

But for as much as I tried to remain focused, part of my mind wandered, recollecting memories of a night like no others, of a touch that brough me pure pleasure, and of a pair of green eyes that held the burning flames of desire.

 **. . .**

Lucy McPherson followed her prey for two days.

Learning his routine, his habits, observing him from the darkest shadows.

 _...Watching a dead man walking._

I loved the hunt, it was my favorite part.

It kept me alert, focused, thanks to the adrenaline being pumped into my veins with every beat of my heart.

Knowing that he completely ignored my presence even when I was next to him in a crowd, it only added excitement to what was going to come next, barely resisting the urge to lick my lips and taste the anticipation in the air.

The last concession I gave to this prey was letting him finish his cigarette.

I watched the smoke leaving his lips, forming the last slightly larger cloud in the motel room.

He didn't see me arriving.

Didn't hear me approaching.

 _They never did._

And two seconds after putting out the cigarette in the ashtray, he was dead.

He fell forward on the desk with a hand clutching at his shirt front, right above the heart, only for it to drop lifeless a moment later.

This part was simple.

I allowed myself to take the first deep breath.

The difficult part was keeping the dead's body quiet.

Whomever said that dead people can't talk, they were wrong. They talked, and when they started, there was no way to stop them.

But this was also my speciality, the reason why the agencies wanted me and no one else.

Taking the information I needed from the computer on the desk in front of him was easy; the small device studied by Nicky bypassed completely the firewalls and left no trace back.

Just like me.

With no fingerprints and the dna of a dead man on the evidence, was easy being a ghost.

No one ever saw me coming and no one ever ever saw me leaving. And by the time I left, walking into the shadows of the night, getting soaked under the large cold drops of rain, the adrenaline had decreased, leaving me with that same bitter aftertaste lingering on my lips.

Something that I always felt after terminating a contract, something that accompanied me every day and that stained my soul with the blood of the life I had just taken.

Trying to tell myself that they just got what they deserved, knowing that they were criminals that had done terrible things, committed so many crimes against humanity, helped me.

But whatever that sensation was, it would have kept following me for sometime, and the only way to push it away was to replace it with something else, something stronger; something I would have enjoyed. A pleasure that would have took me somewhere else until the next hunt.

I started to think of it as a way to reward myself.

Alcohol and drugs had never been interesting for me. I wanted to feel everything, savor every moment, be able to feel the shift in the air before something happened; and being under the effect of those substances only cancelled what I enjoyed the most:The control I had.

Despite the cold drops of rain that kept falling on me as I walked towards the rendezvous point, I felt my skin burning, the adrenaline was long gone but my heart started pounding with a new rhythm, my mouth watered with a specific craving, and my core clenched with the same familiar need.

It was in that moment that flashes of memories appeared in my mind from the last session I had to take care of said need, feeling as a warm shiver ran through my body, starting a sudden flutter in my abdomen that I didn't expect to feel when I remembered the blonde young woman with clear blue eyes.

The feeling caught me off guard, and my secure steady steps slowed down for a moment, but as soon as I started to recall every detail of that night, whatever that sensation was, it was already gone.

My arousal increased when I recalled the events of that night. The movements of her body as she danced in front of me, how she had touched herself while she was lying on my bed, the way her moans slipped from her lips as I tasted her on my tongue, but most of all, I remembered how eager she seemed and how responsive she was to my touch.

I found myself caressing the tips of my fingers with my thumb, feeling them slippery because of the rain that kept falling and drenching me, and another pang of arousal hit me when a flash of me buried deep inside of her appeared in my mind. Feeling her walls tightening repeatedly around me, the flood of wetness coating my hand as she came, and the look of pure pleasure mixed with just a hint of embarassment crossing her face.

Just those thoughts were enough to set a spark of something, and the strange sensation of before represented itself, but it was nothing compared to the roaring fire that those images started inside me as they kept reappearing in my head.

It was unexpected.

But definitely not unwelcome.

The only problem was that it was too late in the evening to arrange something for the night, knowing that I had to wait and restrain my urges until the following one.

But I didn't care, because after all, that's what I took pleasure in.

Just like the hunt was my favorite part in my profession, the waiting before the release only made the chained beast inside of me even more hungry.

* * *

 **I tried to explain the meaning behind the painting in the simplest way I could, it wasn't accurate I know, but I wanted to give the idea of what Piper was feeling while she studied it. Sorry if it wasn't very clear. Cubism is actually pretty simple to understand... Its just my skill to explain it that sucks :D**


	8. Chapter 8

Hi there!

Sorry for the short delay, but I'm back with a new longer chapter for you...

Hope you don't mind :D

Ready for the ride?

Enjoy

* * *

Four thousand dollars.

That's how much I still owed to the College for my studies.

I folded the letter again, placing it into my agenda with a sigh as I stood from the bench in the park, throwing away the trash I had left at my side from the lunch that I had brought from home.

I didn't know if I should have been relieved or anxious for what I read on the letter about the money.

The emotions inside of me were conflicting, and I couldn't figure out which part of me I should have listened to; the one that was feeling lighter and maybe even a bit cheerful, or the other one, the same that made me wonder exactly which was the price I had to pay for my debts, how much my passion had costed to me.

I tightened the grip I had on the strap of my shoulder bag when I felt that same dark place inside of me threatening to pull me down once again... But I couldn't permit it.

I wasn't proud of what I did, that's for sure, and more than once I had thought about quitting with this business, but that was all that ever remained. A thought.

I felt as my nose went numb for the cold when I took in a deep breath, trying to release some of the anxiety that was growing inside me when I exhaled.

The air was surprisingly chilly that afternoon despite the warming rays of the sun and the clean sky brought after the deluge of the previous night. Usually, I would have gone home, or remained in the library to study some more after class, especially now with my big exam approaching, but I needed to go out and clean my head, not at all surprised that my decision of taking a walk in the park didn't actually make me see things in a much better perspective than the one that was always there on the back of my mind, but I admit that it felt nice, even if it was just to see a few faces and look to how the colours of the leaves on the trees were starting to change into many shades of red, orange and yellow as I walked across the Bow Bridge.

Before I knew it, I was already on my way out of the park and on the sidewalk, hoping that my troubling thoughts wouldn't have followed me but just get stuck into the traffic of the city.

It was just 3 pm and I should have been at home studying, but apparentely, Sylvia wanted to talk to me and asked to come to her _office_ in the early afternoon.

I wondered what it was so important that she couldn't have said to me whatever it was on the phone, but I tried to not pay attention to the hundred of possibilities that were already starting to take place in my head, not realizing that in the meantime I had already walked the three blocks from the park and was now standing right in front of the agency.

The escort agency that sell entertainment and company.

...It pratically yelled sex in exchange for money everywhere. But as long as this place paid the taxes and none of the girls or boys were forced to do anything else except offer their company to the clients, apparently this kind of prostitution wasn't illegal.

I let out a scoff of frustation, feeling as a small lump formed in my throat when I remembered the first time I came here six months before, but I managed to swallow it down along with my nervousness, straigtening my back and placing a mask of control on face before I opened the door.

Being an escort didn't mean being a prostitute, and even if I wasn't forced to do anything if I didn't want to, it was rare that a client asked for me just for a quiet romantic dinner or to accompany them as a guest to the opening of an art gallery just to make them look good in front of their friends and the other people invited.

I was pulled back from my thoughts when Rachel -the receptionist and also Sylvia's assistant- called my name, smiling sincerely at me before she told me that I could go and wait in the office.

The studio of the agency wasn't bad, it was a new structure with just three floors, and the interior design was modern but sober, nothing too extravagant like ridiculous futuristics chairs or some twisted ceiling lights.

The walls were white with a few Klimt-stiled paintings representing a not-so-subtle eroticism reference; nothing special that held a deeper meaning, but they were nice.

I smiled politely when I saw a few of the other boys and girls as I made my way on the second floor. I had never developed nothing like a real friendship with any of them, and the _fault_ was mine because I didn't want any more reminder of which my condition actually was, and even if they had always been nice to me, I knew that most of them talked about their appointments and how they went.

Maybe they just did it because express was better than keeping everything inside like I used to do, maybe they comforted each other... But the greater part of me was convinced that nothing would have comforted me or made me feel better for doing this kind of work.

The only good thing that derived from all of this, was that I could pay to realize my dream, but again, it was because of my decisions and because of my studies that I was in this situation.

I stepped into Sylvia's office just when I hear her ending a conversation on the phone.

"Well, hi there sweetness." She greeted me with a smirk and I could feel my cheeks becoming warmer all of a sudden, pulling away the scarf around my neck as I gave her a small smile in return.

"Sorry for making you come over here, Piper." She apologized as she stood from the chair behind her desk.

I didn't know what to think about Sylvia.

She could be a real bitch sometimes, but with me she had always been gentle -well, mostly- offering me this... _opportunity_... when I had no idea of what to do, and since I was still new in the business, she did her best to give me some of the most simple _assignment_ whenever she could. But even after almost seven months, I didn't have a real opinion about her.

She was smart, had a impressive education and knowledge about many things, an elegant sense of style, and she was also very attractive.

But whomever she was before this life... That person was long gone.

I just hoped I wouldn't ended up like this...

"No problem," I replied before cleaning my throat softly, feeling it slightly sore for the cold. "There is something in particular you wanted to tell me?"

I watched as she walked in her high heels to stop in front ot her desk, leaning back against it as she continued to smirk at me.

"I haven't seen you in awhile... And I also wanted to know if everything was alright, you know, after your last appointment..."

Suddenly I felt a rush of warmth starting from the pit of my stomach and spreading all over my body, making my fingertips tingle and coloring my cheeks even more with a furious blush that I tried to mask blaming the parka I was still wearing as I opened the bottons, diverting my gaze from the redhead in front of me, whose smirk had widened not having missed a beat of my reaction.

"It went well," I said fixing the shoulder bag on my other arm. "She was... Very nice." I settled for simple; trying to not think exactly how incredibly _nice_ she had been and how much I had enjoyed it, was becoming incredibly difficult with every passing second.

Flashes from that night and of what I had done the previous night while I was studying, started to reappear in my mind, and I was sure that at this point even Sylvia could have heard the forceful beats of my heart.

"I'm glad to hear that," She said sounding very pleased after having studied me for a minute. "I knew it was a good idea to send you when I couldn't."

I just nodded, not knowing what else I should have said, until she continued, taking me off guard when she added

"And I hope you don't have plans for tonight because... She asked about you."

My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat.

All the air had been suddenly stolen from my lungs, and even if my lips were parted I couldn't seem to take in even the smallest sip of air.

"I know it is a last minute appointment, but..." She continued, returning behind her desk before sitting and going through her agenda like nothing, feeling glad that she didn't seem to notice, or if she did she didn't say anything, about my new reaction. "She is one of my _best_ clients."

I didn't miss the mischievous look flashing in her silver eyes, and for an instant I wondered what exactly she meant with that; if she was actually the best because she was a _top_ _client_ , or if it was because of other more personal reasons... After all, she was the one that was supposed to entertain the mysterious raven haired woman that night.

I shook my head briefly trying to get rid of the image that had took place in my head, and I was ready to politely refuse the appointment, thinking about all the studying I still had to do before of my exam but...

Just as I opened my mouth to reply, that same feeling that had been stalking me for two days, reappeared in my lower abdomen when more memories of that night flashed in front of me along with all those undeniable incredibly pleasant sensations that had me bit down on my bottom lip to try to contain a moan I didn't know was ready to escape from my throat.

Whatever it was, it made me tremble, my hands became suddenly sweaty and shaky, and I could feel my heart jumping furiously against my ribcage, pulsing in my throat, and I didn't know if all of this was for pleasure or for the small sense of fear derived by this unexpected attraction for this unknown sensation that kept following me.

Whatever it was, it was powerful, a sensation that was almost invalidating and that I didn't know how to comprehend.

And even if my mind kept yelling at me that I needed to return at home to study in order to prepare at best for my big exam, I found myself nodding my head at an expectant Sylvia who was still looking at me with an arched eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

The answer that slipped from my lips before I could understand what I was actually doing.

"What time?"

 **. . .**

I had just plopped down on the couch in the living room, closing my eyes and resting my head back along with my stretched arms when I hear those familiar steps approaching.

"The Agency has received the informations of the last contract and they just deposited the second part of the payment on your account."

Nicky's voice reached my ears but I kept my eyes closed, feeling the couch dip under another weight a few seconds later when she took a seat on the other side.

"Are you okay sister?"

"Uh uh" I replied without hearing her small chuckle, suddenly feeling more tired than what I thought I was when I driving back at home. "Why?"

She took a moment to answer me, probably to wait and see if I was going to open my eyes, and when she saw that I had no intention to, she replied "Because you are sitting here in your underwear and tank top with your pants still wrapped around your ankles..."

At that my eyes fluttered open and I turned my head to the side to look at the very amused expression on my friend's face before looking down at myself.

"The shirt was easy to take off... The pants just got stuck with the boots." I explained, as if it was the most plausible explaination ever.

She sighed quietly. "Well, now I understand why the buttons of your shirt are lying all over the floor."

I laughed softly, hearing how my voice sounded raspier than usual, maybe because of the cold outside, or for my walk in the rain the previous night, or maybe it was for the fact that I hadn't slept since terminating the contract.

"How did it go?"

Nicky's tentative question didn't surprise me at all; she always asked me how the operation went when I returned at home, and this time was no different.

I nodded rubbing my tired eyes under my glasses for a moment before I replied. "It went well, but if you are asking for the gory details, then Nichols, I think you will be very disappointed..."

"Oh come on!" I had to laugh again when I heard her whining. "You are not even going to tell me how did you do it this time?" She asked me with the same curiousity and wide, shining eyes of a little kid.

"Nope." I shook my head, unable to suppress a smirk when she scoffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll wait till the autopsy will be done and then hack into the medical examiner computer."

Another humorous laugh escaped form my lips, knowing that she wasn't joking at all.

Nicky was probably the most dreaded hacker and best computer engineer of the entire country; she took care of everything that had to do with my many alias documents, create fake banks accounts, and experimented with every kind of device she could put her hands on to come up with a new unique use.

Despite her messy appearence and her ever present sense of humor, she was a real genius, and as much dangerous with a few informations as I was with my bare hands.

When she was still a student, the MIT found out that she had used their computers and resources to dismantle an International pedophile ring through a live streaming site, being immediately thrown out of the institute, but was welcomed with open arms by the FBI, and that's where I met her.

"What is with that smile?" I head Nicky ask me, pulling me back from my memories and making me chuckle as I looked at her confused expression.

"Do you remember the first time we met?"

When her expression turned from confused into a mischievous smirk, I knew I should have expected one of her smart ass reply.

"Such a sentimental you can be sometimes, boss." She replied, shifting slightly towards me on the couch before she continued, lowering her voice into a deeper tone.

"And you are asking me certain things with your pants around your ankles... Should I read something else into your question?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, bursting out laughing when she saw me standing in a hurry to pull my pants back on before I sat once again, putting a bit more distance between us and trying to not burst out laughing myself.

"You just couldn't resist, could you?"

She continued laughing some more before calming down enough to answer me.

"No, it was too tempting... It sounded like you were asking me about a first date or something like that."

At that I narrowed my eyes at her, biting the inside of my cheek to resist the still present urge to laugh.

"Anyway yes, having someone pointing a gun right at your face on your first day, isn't something you forget, not even in a lifetime."

"You entered in the office holding a bomb Nicky!" I almost shouted exasperated, but with nothing but pure amusement in my voice knowing how things turned out in the end.

"Oh for the love of Jesus! It wasn't a damn bomb! It was a jammer used by a drug cartel to block and interfere the communications!" She replied, trying to explain to me for the hundred time that same detail that she never forgot to mention when this discussion came up.

"But hey, before I could say a word you went all butchy on me and forced me face down on the floor."

I couldn't suppress the laughs anymore after hearing her say _'butchy'_ and looking as she made a bodybuilder pose trying to imitate my larger shoulders.

Once our laughs died down, I let out a long sigh before resting my head on the back of the couch.

"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we had met at the Academy..."

I just wondered hypothetically, knowing that it would never had been possible since Nicky was younger than me.

The answer came out quietly after a few silent moments but with still a hint of humor.

"They would have thrown us out much sooner."

I nodded to myself, thinking that she was probably right.

Nicky and I had the same passion for our jobs, and believed in what we did when we were with the feds, but we didn't trust the system.

Too many criminals would have always found a way to avoid their sentences, and the victims remained without the justice they deserved.

Getting too involved into a case that we were suppoused to leave to others, was what had the both of us expelled from the Bureau.

"I can't believe they are asking me to come back after six years, even after all the mess I had done." I said through a humorless laugh, shaking my head in disbelief.

"You mean the mess that _we_ had done." Replied Nicky arching an eyebrow. "Or are you trying to get all the compliments for yourself, Special Agent Vause?"

I chuckled. "Former Special Agent, and you know I never wanted you to get involved into any of that mess..." I looked down at my hands, feeling as she shifted to come to rest next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder and making me look up at her.

"Your heart was in the right place, Alex. And I wanted to help you in every way I could..."

After saying that, gave me a soft smile, and I had to divert my gaze immediately from hers when I felt those same old tears filling my eyes and that same stubborn lump forming in my throat when I thought about that specific case.

But Nicky could sense something in me like no one else could, and she lightened the mood as soon as she recognized my veiled sorrowful expression.

"Anyway, it was becoming kind of boring working with them," I chuckled softly at her statement. "And I really think we are doing something important here..."

And at that I could only agree.

The world was full of most wanted fugitives with a price on their head.

The classic _'to find dead or alive'_. But me and Nicky prefered the first option; that way there was no risk for them to escape the destiny they deserved.

My thoughts shifted to the previous night, to my last successful hunt, and even if the tiredness I felt when I first returned at home had somehow decreased, the familiar need in my lower abdomen certainly hadn't; it actually became more persistent, bordering into something almost unbearable when I realized that I had a guest to receive that night.

"Oh oh," Suddenly, Nicky shifted in her seat once again, this time away from me, eyes wide and a look of pretended fear on her face. "I know that look. Is the 'horny as hell' look."

Nicky's comment arrived just in time to distract me from that same fluttering I started to feel when a certain blonde young woman crossed my mind, leaving me confused and helpless for a moment because of those sensations.

"Just try to keep it in your pants for another hour or so, okay boss?"

I recovered, pretty quickly, not wanting to make my friend suspicious with my strange reaction, but the feeling was always there on the back of my mind.

"I think I'll go in the backyard pool for a swim." I decided to say at last as I stood, hoping that some of that tension inside of me would have been released, or at least kept at bay with some physical activity before the main course.

* * *

 **I wanted Alex and Nicky to have their little moment too, so now you also have some new information about their past and how they met :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Hi everyone!

I'm so glad you enjoyed the previous chapter and the new informations about Alex and Nicky :D Thank you so much for your kind reviews, they always make me smile :)

About this new chapter, I decided to split it in two parts.

It was very delicate to write and I wanted to give enough space to both Piper and Alex, so in this first part we only have Piper's POV.

Enjoy

* * *

When I arrived at the chateau the first time, just a few nights previous, I thought that I was having some difficulty trying to contain my anxiety and nervousness, but those sensations were just the tip of the iceberg compared to the submerged part that I felt growing inside of me with a sense of anticipation for all that afternoon, threatening to make me lose the last dose of control I had left when I stopped to take a useless deep breath in front of the massive decorated wood door, unable to suppress that strange feeling of deja vu that was mixing along with all the rest that was happening inside of me.

 _Why have I accepted?_ I asked to myself for at least the tenth time in the last few minutes.

But for as much as I tried to find an answer in my head, it was always my body that was ready to respond, more than eagerly, and everytime with the same effect that never failed to leave me both surprised and... undeniably aroused.

The front door swung open, pulling me back from my thoughts when the same young woman with messy reddish-blonde hair that had let me in the first time, appeared on the other side; a wide grin spreading quickly across her face to welcome me.

"Hi there, blondie."

Her tone was light and pleasant and I couldn't help but return a smile of my own, suddenly feeling as those persistent sensations that were running unleashed inside of me only a few moments before, were partially eased after her friendly greeting, but it did nothing for my still racing heart and sweaty palms.

"Hi... Uhm sorry, I'm a bit early."

I didn't know why I felt the need to apologize when she let me in closing the door behind me, leaving me in the same magnificent foyer I had admired a couple of nights previous and that even in that moment I couldn't help but drink into the elegance and beauty that surrounded me as my eyes landed on every painting, sculpture or decoration present in the immense room.

"Oh, you certainly don't need to apologize for arriving earlier." I diverted my gaze from the adornments of the ceiling just in time to see her winking at me. "Actually, I should be the one to apologize, it's your second visit here and I still don't know your name..."

I remembered how the first time I tried to introduce myself she had interrupted me before I could do it.

"My name's Piper." I said through a timid but sincere smile.

"Well, it's nice to have you back Piper, I'm Nicky." She smirked at me as I tested the name in my head, finding it quite fitting for the shorter woman. "And in case you were asking, since is the second time I'm answering the door to you; no, I'm not the butler of this castle."

She concluded humorously, making me smile wider for her attempt to put me more at ease.

I was so taken by my thoughts that I actually didn't ask to myself who this woman might be; it wasn't any of my business anyway, but now that she had said that, I couldn't help but wonder about her presence in this magnificent house.

"The boss is still outside..." She informed me, interrupting my thoughts as she started walking, leading me towards a large hallway.

"Outside?" I asked a bit confused as soon as I registered the words, too fascinated by the Impressionist paintings that were adorning the walls, doing my best to keep walking and don't trip over myself because of something I saw, just like it happened last time.

"Yeah," The young woman replied running a hand through her long messy hair as we entered the spacious living room -or probably one of the many, given the size of the place- and then stopped in front of a door window that offered a reduced but beautiful view of the backyard of the house. "And I bet she will be more pleased to just see you than to see me, so... I'll leave you two alone." She tilted her head towards the yard, winking at me one last time before she turned to leave the room.

I remained there for a few moments watching as she disappeared in the long hallway before my gaze returned to the door window in front of me, not seeing anything or anyone outside beside the impeccable yard and the trees in the distance, wondering where my hostess was as my hand reached for the handle.

I closed my eyes, shivering when I was immediately welcomed by the chilly autumnal night air that brought the smell of grass and resin. But beside the soft whisper of the wind in my ears, another sound captured my attention after the first few seconds; the one of the splash of water.

My eyes fluttered open and my gaze turned towards where I could hear the sound coming from, and it was only then, after I took a couple of steps in that direction, that I saw the large inground swimming pool around the corner, not surpised that I hadn't spot it from the door window.

But the splash of water continued.

Constant.

Relaxing.

And before I could realize it, my legs were already bringing me towards that direction, not being aware that what I was going to meet in less than twenty steps, would have started another series of strong flutters inside me.

A toned body.

Smooth creamy skin.

Sheets of muscles flexing on strong, yet femminine shoulders with every long stroke.

The sound of the water was relaxing.

But watching this woman swimming with such elegance... Was hypnotic.

I don't know how much time I spent there looking at her, it seemed an eternity, and at the same time it didn't seem enough, but at some point she resurfaced right in front of me, eyes closed, full glistening lips slightly parted to take in some air, one forearm resting on the marble border of the pool as she ran her other hand through her wet long black hair.

My heart skipped a painful beat.

She was beautiful.

"Hey there..."

I heard that deep, slightly raspy voice reaching my ears; a distant sound, a sweet whisper that certainly didn't fail in increasing that unknown sensation inside of my chest that I felt as soon as my eyes landed on this... _Sight._

My heartbeat quickened in a time that seemed to remain still, my lungs screamed for the loss of air, and my legs became suddenly weaker when a pair of bright, green mysterious eyes locked with mine and a small smirk appeared on those rosy lips.

"H-hey." I managed to reply at last after an enormous effort to try to regain control.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come." She offered through a small apologetic smile, as she wiped a few drops of water from her eyes. "Didn't realize it was this late already."

I had to lick my lips and swallow a few times, trying to bring some moisture in my dry throat before I could speak again; my voice sounding still a little shaky.

"A-actually... I'm a bit early."

I watched as that smirk widened slightly before her eyes traveled slowly over my body, starting from my high heels, which were right a few steps in front of her, to continue up to my stocking covered legs until she met the hem of my coat, and then her gaze returned to me.

Those eyes that only a moment before were almost playful, were now holding a new light; the same that I had seen a few nights previous.

Try to resist was impossible.

The anxiety and nervousness I felt growing in me not even five minutes before were suddenly blown away with the wind, leaving me only capable to feel as my body responded immediately to that particular look.

A moment of silence followed as she studied me for a little longer before she spoke, softly, her deep voice matching the soothing, calming sound of the water.

"Wanna join me?"

When I registered her invitation over the effect that that slightly husky tone started inside me, I had to blink a few times to focus and try to not appear too confused.

"W-what?"

But despite my efforts, she had already read the expression all over my face, and the only answer that she gave me back, was a huge grin before she tilted her head over the stairs that lead into the pool.

I started fiddling nervously with my hands, trying to come up with a reason to gently decline her invitation, but before I could, she spoke again, probably having noticed my hesitancy.

"If you are worried about the cold don't be," The light clouds of steam that were raising from the surface of the water were a good enough explaination, but she continued anyway.

"The water is around 88 degrees."

I bit down on my bottom lip still not completely convinced, before I came up with an hesitant

"I don't have the bathing suit..." which, of course, earned me a series of amused deep chuckles from the woman in front of me.

"I see," She replied with still a hint of humor in her voice and a smirk playing on her lips as she rested her elbows on the border of the pool, her hands reaching the back of her neck to do something that had me widen my eyes slightly, in both surprise and anticipation if my assumption was correct.

It was.

Never diverting her gaze from me, she undid the top of her suit, then keeping one of her hands on the borded, she reached down to do what I was suspecting she was doing.

A furious blush warmed my cheeks, and suddenly the cold was the furthest thing from my mind... And from my body.

She gave me this broad cocky grin, looking very pleased for the reaction she managed to pull from me as her hand resurfaced holding the bottom part.

The soaked black swimming suit landed on the grass only a step away from me.

"Now, I don't have it either..." She replied with that same confident grin firmly in place.

And at that point, as all I could think about was that she was staying in the water naked, every excuses I could have come up with, dissolved in the cool night air like the steam raising from the warm water.

I felt my hands moving to open the buttons of my coat, but my eyes never left hers, transfixed by that predatory look until her gaze shifted to give me indication to where I could leave my clothes, on the reclining wood chairs resting next to the entrance of the pool.

I didn't put on much of a show as I undressed, trying to do it still gracefully but also as quickly as possible because of the chilly air that contrasted so deliciously against the gaze I could feel burning on every new exposed inch of my body, especially on my legs, when I deliberately took a little extra time to remove my stockings.

The first touch of warm water on my toes as I stepped on the first step of the pool, almost had me moan, and the urge became even more difficult to ignore when I descended completely and I was immersed till my shoulders.

"Not bad, isn't it?"

Apparentely, my hostess didn't miss a beat, noticing the look of pure bliss on my face, and when my eyes fluttered open, they immediately fixed on her form, watching as she reached the near border to where I was standing.

"It is very nice, yes." I offered with a small smile, diverting my gaze timidly when I received back another grin.

"Wine?"

It was only when I turned my head to look at her that I noticed the bottle of wine and the two glasses resting just at the foot of the reclining chairs on a small silver tray.

I looked at her unable to suppress the suspicious smile on my lips.

"You have planned to get me in here all along, haven't you?"

She opened the bottle even if I hadn't actually accepted, looking back at me with a small innocent smile. "No, but a girl gotta be prepared. It would be terribly rude from my part to not offer something to my guests," She paused, filling the glass before she continued, lowering her voice of a few tones that didn't fail in sending a pang of arousal directly to my core. "Especially if said guest is a young attractive woman."

I bit down on my bottom lip, smirking as I my eyes shifted from those bright eyes, down to her full lips, that appeared even more rosy and invinting for how they were glistening, shivering slightly at the memory of how they felt when she had pressed them against mine in a heated kiss the first time.

"Thank you." I said softly accepting the glass that she handed me, not having realized that in the meantime I had reached her side and that we were standing right in front of each other.

It was the first time that I had seen her without her glasses and I couldn't not notice how much her features seemed softer, her eyes a bit less predatory but always holding that same particular look that made them brighter... And darker with desire at the same time.

"You are not having any?" I asked tentatively after the second generous sip of prosecco.

She just shook her head in negative, licking her lips before answering.

"I'm not much of a drinker... If you want I can taste it," Gently, she took the glass from my hand, my eybrows furrowing slightly in confusion when I saw her placing it on the tray at the side instead of taking a sip; and her intention became clear when she added in a sultry voice "But I bet it tastes much sweeter on your lips."

The warmth of the water was nothing compared to the burning sensation I felt when those strong but gentle hands found a place around my waist, pressing me against the wall of the pool.

Electricity ran along my spine, feeling my body trembling with anticipation, and finding myself leaning slightly forward, my lips already parted, eager to meet hers halfway.

It started softly.

Like the small warm waves that every few moments caressed my neck.

My body relaxed, melting into the combined sensations created by the softness of those lips, by the secure touch of her hands on my sides and abdomen, but especially by the feeling of her body pressed against mine as she shifted to stay closer to me.

Her tongue didn't demand entrance like it did last time, because I let her meet mine more than eagerly, enjoying how she took control, embracing it in that same dance, keeping the kiss soft but heated at the same time.

The strong uncontrollable flutters that started from my stomach and quickly spread down towards my core, had me unbalanced even if my body couldn't feel its own weight in the water, and instincitively, my arms came up to rest around her neck and shoulders in a lose embrance, unable to not enjoy the closeness and the heat coming from her body.

It felt different.

It _was_ different.

Not only respect the last time.

But respect every other time with everyone else.

Both my stomach and my core clenched in the same moment.

It wasn't suppoused to be so... Incredibly pleasant... to just kiss someone.

 _...Or maybe it was?_

Those thoughts should have had me worried, almost frightnened by those unknown sensations I felt running inside of me, but just the idea to interrupt this moment for my sudden desperate need of air, was unthinkable.

So I just kept kissing her, feeling as my head started to spin.

But when she bit down softly on my bottom lip, running her tongue over it to soothe the area afterward, a new more violent delicious shiver ran through me, and my hostess noticed it immediately, tearing her lips away from mine and leaving me with an unexpected empty frustrating sensation filling me. My eyes fluttered open and I was met with a hint of concern flashing into deep green eyes.

"We can go inside if you are feeling cold..." She whispered softly yet hotly, her hands never stopping their slow, accurate exploration on my sides, reaching my hips and caressing the skin there with her thumbs.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I considered carefully what to say.

Even if she had misinterpreted my reaction, tell her that I wasn't shivering for the cold seemed like admitting something else, something even I didn't know what it was.

And at the moment, the only thing I knew, the only one I was sure about, was that I wanted to continue what we were doing.

"...I'm okay," I reassurred her, matching her own light tone, tightening a little the hold I had around her strong shoulders before I continued, looking briefly around before my eyes found hers again. "I really like it here."

It was true.

The night sky was clean and filled with so many stars that it was impossible to count them all, the moon only a thin slice of its full form yet it was so bright and beautiful, but what I was enjoying the most, was the comforting warmth that I felt surrounding me; and the water was the smallest part of that source of warmth.

I watched as her eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise and a smirk tugged at her lips when she felt me pulling her closer.

"You should see it when it is snowing," She started, taking my invitation and pressing her body closer against mine, feeling her generous breasts brushing against my smaller ones as her hands went lower and lower. "See the snow flakes dissolving in the air for the heat before they can even touch you." Her voice became deeper and her hand gripped my thigh both possessively and gently.

Watching as those green eyes darkened dangerously when I lifted my leg to hook it around her waist, only sent another pang of arousal directly to my core.

"It must be beautiful..." I said still a little breathless because of my shallow breaths, suddenly feeling like one of those hopless snow flakes, slowly melting into her warmth when I felt her fingertips tracing lines on my lower abdomen, reaching my mound until she finally cupped my sex in her hand, causing my breath to hitch in my throat at the contact.

I almost expected her to say something else, instead, to my great delight, she leaned in for the rest of the way, claiming my lips in a deep passionate kiss.

I moaned into her mouth as soon as she started drawning circles over my already swollen clit, slowly at first, then faster but always accurate, with the perfect amount of pressure.

It wasn't long before I hooked my other leg around her waist so that I could have met her touch more easily with the movement of my hips, and it wasn't long before I had to tear my lips away from hers, throwing my head back to let out a silent scream, feeling my body shaking with pleasure as those skilled fingers brought me into a quick but intense climax.

She continued to touch me through the aftershock, slowing down her movement until she stopped keeping her hand gently pressed against me, and when I came down from my height, embarrassment covered my features as I realized that I came after only a few strokes, and in that shy moment, I hid the blush I knew it was forming on my cheeks resting my head between her neck and shoulder; my legs and arms still wrapped around her.

A small deep chuckle caressed my ear, and I could almost _hear_ that smug smirk in her voice when she asked "You okay, kid?"

Evidently she wasn't disappointed by the fact that I hadn't been able to last for too long, and when I -reluctantly- pulled back from her shoulder to look at her face, I wasn't surprised to see the smirk that I had already pictured in my mind, being perfectly in place on those inviting lips, even wider than what I had immagined, because despite what I thought, she actually looked very pleased.

I could only nod my head as I released the hold I had around her, shivering involuntarily when all I felt surrounding me was just the warmth of the water.

Big mistake.

"I think it's better if we _continue_ inside," She said looking at me with eyes that were still filled with desire but with also a small smile tugging at her lips, which got me so much captured that I didn't register immediately what she had said, and when I did, it was too late, she was already exiting from the pool in all her naked glory, every inch of her glistening as thin filaments of steam left her warm body against the cold air of the night.

"I certainly don't want you to get a cold."

But even if those words reached my ears, they didn't seem to make sense to me.

I was too transfixed by her beauty, by the confidence she carried as she wore nothing but her own skin; looking graceful, with that veiled but incredibly attractive a hint of danger just like a panther, and at the same time exquisite and inimitable like the sculpture of an ancient Greek goddess.

I stepped out of the pool without even feeling my legs moving, without feeling the abrupt change of temperature; only pulled out from my own stupor by an unexpected gesture that I couldn't help but find tender in my naive mind, surprising me once again as she wrapped one of the large towels protectively around my body, shielding me from the cold, but, at the same time, feeding even more that persistent unknown sensation inside me.

* * *

 **Like I said, it was delicate to write... I'm still not fully convinced about the result, but I really wanted to focus on Piper's reactions and *feelings* when she sees Alex for the second time. So, yeah... I hope this first part of the evening didn't completely suck :P**


	10. Chapter 10

Hi there!

I'm so very very happy that you liked the previous chapter :D Seriously guys, thank you so much for all your kind words :)

And as I promised, here's the second part of the chapter... Alex's POV of course ;)

Enjoy

* * *

The warmth of the water had massaged away the tension I felt gathered on the sore muscles of my neck and shoulders since the previous night, and swimming had pushed aside the tiredness that was oppressing my mind.

Even the constant pressure between my legs had reduced during my relaxing moment, but said pressure returned with a vengeance when I saw the guest that I was expecting that night standing right in front of me when I resurfaced.

I noticed immediately how nervous she looked, way more than last time, watching as she kept shifting unconsciously on her spot, but at the same time, her face showed something else as soon as her eyes met mine. Something that I couldn't describe.

Something that I couldn't pay too much attention to despite how magnetic it was and how intriguing it appeared on her face, because knowing that she was feeling nervous, the last thing I wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable.

My need could wait a little longer.

The thing that couldn't wait and that I didn't want, was to see her so anxious and tense, glad that it took only a couple of attempts and a bit of _persuasion_ to get her into the pool with me, noticing how her features became immediately softer and how her shoulders relaxed as soon as they touched the warm water.

But for me it still wasn't enough. And I don't know if I did it because it seemed the most gentle first move I could come up with or if I wanted to see what kind of reaction I would have pulled from her. Maybe it was a combination of both. Or maybe neither one of the two.

All I knew, was that having her standing right in front of me, naked and a bit flushed, proved to be too much. The images and memories of a few nights previous, for how much vivid and detailed they were in my mind, were not enough anymore. My leggendary self control was still in place, but strangely enough, it didn't seem to be so solid and stable at the moment.

I started the kiss as softly as I could, not wanting to startle her but giving her enough hints to let her know what I was going to do.

What I wasn't expecting however, was to feel the spark inside of me burning as if someone had just thrown a tank of fuel on it when I felt her lips moving in perfect sync with mine and her arms coming up to rest around my shoulder, feeling her body finally melting against mine.

It felt good.

More than just good actually.

It loosened that part inside of me that I had tried so hard to keep chained for two long days.

It made me pulse with electricity, feeding even more by the reactions I was getting from her, pleased that she seemed to enjoy the moment as much as I was; it only added more excitement and complicity in something so simple... Yet delightful.

But the beast inside of me didn't roar as vigorously as I expected, it kept pulling, showing the sharp fangs but still restrained under my power while I savoured those sweet sounds that were escaping from her throat as my hands explored the smooth skin of her body, swallowing them as appetizers, letting them feed my growing arousal. And it was in that moment, that from a deeper, barely visible spot inside me, under all those lively emotions, I felt a new sensation trying to surface.

It was smaller.

It started like a tingling in my abdomen.

Turning into a dull vibration that spread in my ribcage, swelling my chest with an unknown sense of warmth and that only at the end reached my core.

It felt so foreign, but also strangely pleasant and captivating.

And whatever it was, from the moment I acknowledged its presence, it never left.

Not completely.

Becoming stronger but in a soft way when I watched and felt her coming, when I saw the distinctive look of pleasure crossing her face and catching a glimpse of lust darkening her half lidded eyes before she buried her face in the crook of my neck.

An unexpected but certainly not unwelcome reaction; and in those short few moments, I couldn't help but notice how she looked like a completely different person from the one I had met just a couple of nights previous.

The embarrassment was only evident when she pulled back from my neck, diverting her gaze from mine, but the gesture that made me smile genuinely and that I couldn't help but find _tenderly_ amusing, was how she not only remained wrapped around me, but how she, probably unconsciously, instinctively, tightened the hold she had around my shoulders and waist.

It was in that moment that I felt something shift in the air.

Maybe it was just an impression, not being used to feel certain strangely pleasant sensations in a moment that involved just such a simple contact, but I couldn't find a reason because I shouldn't have enjoyed it like she seemed she was doing.

So I did, and the only thing that left me puzzled, was when I kept feeling its presence even after she had released the hold around me several minutes later.

The question kept bouncing in the back of my mind until we were inside the house, both still wrapped in the towels as I lead her on the upper floor.

She looked still a bit disoriented, ever since the moment I saw her exiting from the pool, but as we walked down the upper hallway I could feel her gaze fixed on my profile, and whenever I turned my head to look at her at my side, she would have always diverted her eyes from me, tilting her head down or looking elsewhere. And what initially was a soft shade of pink on her cheeks, spread quickly into a furious red blush that started to extend down her neck with every stolen glance, and of course, such reaction only had me smirk more and more until not even halfway on the hallway a wide amused grin had formed on my face.

I was considering to ask her if everything was okay, when I noticed that she had slowed down until she stopped completely a couple of steps behind me.

And at that point, the amused grin on my face turned into a light frown of confusion before a small sincere smile replaced it immediately when I saw in front of what she had stopped.

"Do you like it?" I found myself asking spontaneously as I reached her side.

Despite my soft tone, I still managed to startle a little the young woman whose gaze turned towards me at the sound of my voice, looking a bit embarrassed having been caught watching the painting.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," I reassured her with another honest smile, not wanting to make her feel even more nervous. "My friend mentioned you had noticed this last time..."

I watched as my smile caused a small timid one on her own lips, deepening further the blush on her face before her gaze returned to the surrealist landscape hung on the wall.

"It's just so intriguing and full of sentiment..." She replied, admiration dripping from every word as her eyes filled with astonishment.

I took another step closer towards her, captured by the emotions that I saw flashing in her eyes as she studied the piece in front of her, and without diverting my gaze from her face, before I even considered what I was actually doing, but guided by a sudden curiosity to know, I asked "What do you see?"

As part of me was expecting, the sound of my voice was enough to pull her back from her amazement, her gaze returned towards me with a new shy expression covering her features as her hand played nervously with the hem of the towel she had wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm afraid that whatever I'm going to say wouldn't be enough to describe its depth and beauty..." She offered with a light shake of her head before she bit down on her bottom lip, but something in her eyes, the light that had made them brighter since her gaze had landed on the ornate framed canvas, was telling me a different version of the answer she had offered to me, stimulating even more my curiosity, and another part of me... Something that I couldn't place or understand fully, but that was strong enough that made me insist, hoping that all it needed to convince her was just another small dose of persuasion.

"Everyone can interpret this as they please. Try..." I encouraged her softly.

Her eyes returned to look directly into mine, as if she was looking for the sincerity of my words, and when she found it, I saw her biting on the inside of her cheek before her gaze shifted once again to return on the painting.

The landscape was nothing impressive; the sea occupied half of the canvas from the right, while on the left side was raffigured the first part of an secluded beach that grew into hills and then into high rocky mountains, and the whole scene seemed to be taken just in the moment that followed the sunset, when the sun is nowhere in sight, but the sky is still bright, playing on many shades of pink on the horizon until it becomes darker with touches of purple and blue further up in the sky and towards the mountains.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before," I was brought back into reality by the soft voice of my guest that sounded once again filled with the same amazement I saw flashing in her eyes before, capturing my attention and curiosity as she continued.

"The use of such warm colours is so unusual in surrealism, as it is the absence of deformed figures or fantastic and disturbing creatures, but I can tell it still remain the rappresentation of the subconscious, a dream, for how some of the elements are represented, like the trees, which are not showed singularly but packed to assemble the hills, forming the thick forest at the foot of the mountains, where the lenght of their trunk is the only part that make them recognizable for whom is watching." I could hear in her voice how much her confidence seemed to become stronger after only a few words, impressing me with the details that she had noticed, fascinated the more she continued to describe it as her attention turned towards the next particular.

"The sea is still, there are no waves or ripples anywhere expect for these ones," I smirked, unable to suppress it as my eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise when I saw her indicating the small patch of water in the distance. "Deliberately painted with the same colours used for the water to make it look like the waving hidden form of a clock; an unconscious symbol of the relativity of time respect the eyes of whom is witnessing this... And this concept brings me to this," She indicated the small, just barely visible human figure, sitting on the far end of the painting on one of the rocks at the base of the moutains, looking towards the horizon.

"The only spectator of this incredible sunset, whose shadow is stretched abnormally, beyond any reason and logic since the sun was obviously on the opposite side from where the shadow should be projected."

She paused as if she was considering carefully what she was going to say next.

"I would say that it is the rappresentation of a dream that might also be a deep, hidden desire of the artist. And what I see, what I feel looking at this, is a sense of loneliness, desolation while the figure remain there waiting hopefully, giving to the painting the same strangely comforting warmth that fills the sky above him, and a hint of... Romanticism." Another small pause, suddenly feeling a bit insecure. " Well, at least for me..."

She concluded softly, her voice trailing off, barely above a whisper as her tone became less confident and more hesitant just like when I first asked her what she saw in it.

Her gaze returned timidly towards me, the hint of a smile on those lips and the same soft blush on her cheeks, and this time, to my immense surprise, I was the one that had to blink a few times to return into reality, swallowing several times to get rid of that lump that would always form in my throat whenever I found myself looking at this painting, impressed beyond belief by her description and interpretation that, oddly enough, had matched almost perfectly what I'd always felt whenever I lost myself into it.

"You couldn't have described it better." I praised her, pushing my glasses further up on the bridge of my nose, trying to cover the flash of sorrow into them as I forced a small smile on my lips, that only became full and sincere when I saw a grin spreading on her face, for the first time showing a pair of graceful dimples on her cheeks that she tried to hide along with her blush tilting her head down.

"Thanks..."

She looked flattered by my compliment and part of me couldn't help but ask if maybe there was a reason because she seemed so much interested in the painting and the rest of the decorations of the house as Nicky had revealed to me a few days previous after she had noticed her looking at my collection. It was refreshing to know that someone had an interest in this subject, and yeah, a great part of me found it... an attractive trait, especially in the young woman who was at my side still wrapped in a towel, clutching it more tightly around her when new shiver shook her body.

Whatever question I was going to ask or just considering to ask was immediately pushed aside when I saw this, coming instinctively closer as if my near presence or the unexpected touch of my hands running up and down on her shoulders was enough to keep her warm.

It wasn't until I saw her raising her gaze, that I noticed how close we were and how her eyes had darkened of a few deeper shades of blue when she saw me standing so close in front of her, when she felt my touch through the towel; tensing for a split second until she registered it before I finally felt her muscles relaxing under my fingertips.

What she had just said about the concept of time was right, because for me, that moment seemed to be stretched into full minutes.

Something that had remained quiet during the description of the painting, had returned in the instant I saw that look flashing in her eyes as she looked into my own before they shifted down towards my mouth. The pink tip of a tongue peeked out to lick a pair of thin but soft lips, I watched her swallowing hard, her gaze returning to me a second later, and at that point those large pools were so dark and deep that the black of the pupil had swallowed a great part of the blue.

My core clenched in a reminder on the hunger that was waiting to be satiated, and that, combined with the warm shallow breaths of my guest caressing my cheek, and the sight of her pulse jumping at the base of her neck, was enough for me to snap out of my stupor to continue with the evening I had planned and was impatentiely waiting for.

I resisted long enough to lead her towards the living room, a few room before my bedroom, feeling as her gaze never left me, and as soon as I had her into the room, I barely managed to close the door before I pinned her against it, so forcefully that I heard her breath hitch in her throat for the surprise, but that turned into a long deep moan as soon as my lips claimed hers in a hungry, bruising kiss.

The towels that were covering our bodies had dropped in the movement leaving us completely naked pressed against each other. Skin against skin. Warmth against the burning heat that I felt inflaming my flesh from the inside out, as if lava itself was running into my veins, clenching my core, feeling it pulse with a desperate need.

The kiss was rough, harsh, deep and full of lust, the exact opposite respect the ones that we had shared in the pool; there was nothing gentle or delicate about it, only fire and a primal need that I couldn't suppress anymore, that bordered into something dangerous, when I felt her responding to my attack with as much passion, but always letting me be the one to control the rhythm and the depth.

She took everything I had to give, making me even more aggressive and demanding when I felt her lifting one of her legs to hook it around my waist, spreading herself wider, offering herself to me as her hands ran down my shoulders, along my back until she reached my ass, pulling me a bit closer to her, so close that I could almost feel her mound coming in contact with mine.

The shyness that I saw only a few minutes before was nowhere to be found as she whimpered and moaned into my mouth with every movement of my hands over her body while I cupped one of her small breast in my hand, squeezing it, teasing one hard nipple between my fingers while my other hand went lower, leaving a few red hungry marks when I raked my fingernails over the skin of her abdomen feeling the muscles there twitching under my touch as she took in a sharp breath through her nose, hearing the long both relieved and desperate moans resonate into her chest in the moment my hand cupped her sex, and at that point I could no longer ignore my need for air as I ripped my lips from hers only to let out a low dangerous growl against her jaw.

She was soaked.

So warm and slick that I had to use more pressure to be able to feel the hard little bud of her clit.

I felt her dug her fingernails into my flesh and her hips buck hard against my hand when I went lower, enchanted by those soft breathless noises I heard falling from her parted lips.

My fingers slipped through her folds, feeling her wetness dripping in my hand, a sensation that combined with her moans and whimpers was threatening to break the last dose of control I had left in me.

It would have been so easy, so gratifying to push forward, to stretch the small ring of muscle at her entrance and feel my fingers being wrapped by the tight clinging wet heat I knew would have found inside.

The thought just made me pulse with need, making it almost impossible to resist when I realized that my fingertips were already pressing slightly forward at her opening, feeling her clit twitching against my palm and her hips bucking against my touch, trying to take me inside.

But my other hand managed to stop her movement before she could succeed, hearing as another frustrated whimper left her lips.

I could have given to her what I knew she wanted, what she was desperately trying to show me she needed, but the selfishness got the better on me when those images that took place in my head increased my arousal beyond any other coherent thought.

This time I was going to take _my_ pleasure first.

I growled again against her neck, biting down on a delicate and sensitive spot of her throat, before I reached her ear to whisper what I hoped would have reassured her.

"You'll have that soon, I promise... But first,"

I pulled back for the next part, and only in that moment, when my eyes fluttered open, I noticed how dark the room was, illuminated only by the light of the moon that was coming through the large glass wall on the opposite side of the room.

But the effect of that light had a breathtaking effect of the soft features of my guest, making her eyes look brighter under the clouds of arousal that had appeared as soon as her gaze found mine.

I licked my lips watching how glistening and puffy were hers after our last passionate deep kiss, remembering how they felt as she pulled and sucked on my bottom lip and imagining them doing the same where I felt myself pulsing with need before I revealed what I wanted, barely recognizing my own voice when I heard it coming out so deep and husky.

"I want to feel the warmth of your mouth on me, the softness of your lips around me and the pressure of your tongue inside me, until I'm be ready to come."

For all the time, I continued to touch her, circling her clit slowly, trapping it between my fingers before I went lower, just teasing at penetration when I mentioned where I wanted to feel her tongue.

The answer that her body gave me was better than any other possible verbal response as I felt her shivering so deliciously in my hands, watching with satisfaction how her half lidded eyes became larger and darker with every word that left my mouth, unable to suppress a smirk when I felt another drop of her juices drip into my hand, thinking that maybe, despite my selfish request, I wasn't going to be the only one that would have took pleasure from it.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi everyone!

It took me a little longer but I'm back with a new, longer chapter for you :D

It starts from where we left last time... Don't worry, I'm not so cruel to leave these two naked, _wet_ and shivering for the cold in front of each other without playing a little with them :P

So yeah, a little more smut this time before returning to the plot ;)

Enjoy

* * *

Her words echoed in my head as that deep sensual voice reached places inside of me I didn't know existed, places that had never known or experienced such strong sensations.

Her touch was a flame against my skin, a bare wire that sent warmth and sparks of electricity through every nerve of my body.

Only in dreams I had felt something similar to this before, in a dimension where everything was amplified, every emotion, every sensation, expressed over an apex that didn't exist in reality; where the first simplest intimate touch was ready to push you over the edge and where the feeling of someone's lips against yours left you empty and lonely for the loss when you woke up.

I had to blink a few times, but I was awake, and all of this was real.

As it was the burning heat I felt emanating from her body, the warm breath caressing my neck, the delicious sting of the bite on my throat... As it was the thick wetness between my legs; the concrete, undeniable proof of my arousal that had no precedent.

I registered the loss of her body pressed against mine before I could see her taking a few steps away from me. The smirk was gone from her face, but that look... That look that I had just met and that I couldn't get out of my head during the previous days, was always there Looking more predatory than any beast, more dangerous and shaper than any blade...

More arousing and magnetic than anything I had ever experienced before in my life, and the effect it had on me was devastating, so contrasting, like feeling the absence of gravity from the inside while my legs suffered from a sudden weakness that made incredibly difficult even support my own weight.

Two green gems pierced the darkness of the room, drawing me to her, only guided by their brightness and the weak but sufficient light of the moon as I made my way towards her, glad that I had to take just a couple of steps to reach the black leather couch where she had chosen to sit, not trusting my legs to be able to keep me standing any longer.

And so I knelt, right in front of her. Like an obedient pet.

I didn't wait for orders, she had already whispered them hotly against my lips, giving me a pretty vivid and clear description of what she wanted, but I couldn't not take a moment to scan my eyes over her naked figure, watching how the light of the moon played with the shadows on her perfect alabaster skin and how those same shadows that covered half of her face made her appear even more... _enigmatic._

A trait that I couldn't help but find so very attractive and fascinating in her.

My mouth watered when my eyes landed on full breasts, then lower, where the lightly defined muscles on her abdomen became visible everytime she exhaled, until I reached her center.

The sight was enough to make me moan involuntarily, and I knew that when I saw her spreading her legs further apart, hooking her knee on the arm of the couch, it was just to give me a better view, and when I looked up to meet her gaze, my suspicious were confirmed in the instant I recognized the satisfied smirk on those irresistible lips.

She reached out and my eyes fluttered closed at the soft, delicate touch offered by her hand against my cheek before her thumb traced the outline of my slightly parted lips.

"Don't make me wait too long kid..."

A warm shiver ran along my back when that deep voice caressed my ears with the same sweetness of the touch on my cheek, my stomach clenched and my eyes opened once again, slowly, just in time to see as the tip of her tongue peeked out to wet her bottom lip.

It was too much.

Before she pulled her hand back completely, I kept it in place a moment longer with my own, turning my head slightly as I placed a couple of slow wet kisses there. One on her wrist, and her eyes became more curious. One on the center of her palm, watching those green pools becoming darker. And the last one, running my tongue till the tip of her first two fingers before I sucked them softly into my mouth.

The look I received back shook my very core, increasing my heartbeats as my breaths became more shallow, but I never diverted my eyes from hers as I leaned in, between her parted legs, placing my hand on her thigh, unable to ignore the strong desire to touch her and feel that creamy smooth skin under my fingertips.

The scent of her arousal assaulted me with the same intensity that I was used to feel whenever I smelled a familiar scent, sending the whispers of a memory on the back of my mind, a very recent memory in this case, one that I had created only a couple of night previous, but that didn't fail in starting another series of violent flutters in my lower abdomen, extending them further down, clenching my core so deliciously when I tasted the first drop of her essence of my tongue.

My eyes remained fixed on hers for as long as I could until I saw hers closing as she rested her head back, exposing the length of her neck and releasing a low groan from deep inside of her. And only at that point, I permitted my eyes to flutter shut, losing myself in the sweetness of her nectar and in the sensation of her clit pulsing between my lips.

It was addictive.

Every single one of her reactions sent a new pang of arousal directly to my core, taking my breath away; knowing that I was the one that was having this effect on her it only made me more devoted to the attentions I was paying to her need, noticing how every one of my movements earned a different reaction from her.

The slow accurate swirl of my tongue around her clit had the muscles of her thigh flexing and trembling as her hips lifted to seek more contact.

Whenever I took her between my lips sucking her into my mouth, softly at first then more vigorously, she would have stopped breathing until I released her, letting out a deep groan through her parted lips that sent a new, more powerful shiver along my spine.

And when I went lower, teasing her entrance, gathering enough of her juices in my mouth before I swallowed and then pushed my tongue deep inside of her, I would have obtained the most arousing of her reactions.

She would have cupped the back of my head, running her fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp with her fingertips before fisting my hair in a firm grip, not too hard to cause real pain, but strong enough to make me increase my efforts so that I could feel her do it again and again.

I had abbandoned my empty search to find the reason of why I was feeling such things, feeling such sensations that I had never experienced with anyone else.

It was from a thousands of irregular heartbeats back that I had stopped to ask myself questions...

There was no accurate answer to something I could feel, not a verbal one at least since it was my body that was always eager to respond to her touch, to her kisses, or simply to her proximity, feeling that scorching warmth emanating from her body.

There were no distracting sounds this time, no crackling fire, no music playing softly in the background, nothing but the low deep groans resonating in her throat, the sound of her breaths becoming more frequent, but especially, the wet ones I was making as I brought her towards the edge, licking her, sucking her as if I wanted to drink every drop of her pure essence.

...Taking my pleasure by simply pleasuring her.

Her hips began to lift after every few seconds, after every suck and swirl of my tongue on the rosy sensitive tip of her clit, feeling as the grip on the back of my head became firmer, pushing my slightly forward, and I knew what that meant.

She was close.

A thought that was confirmend when a moment later I heard her voice caressing my ears.

"I'm going to come..."

Deep.

Husky.

Dripping with lust...

If sex had a voice, then I had just heard it.

I was both thrilled and disappointed. I wanted to increase my efforts to push her over the edge but at the same time I wanted to slow down so that I could have kept hearing her groans and moans, so that I could have continued to taste that unique, incredible flavor on my tongue only to pull more out of her.

But at last, the desire to feel her come in my mouth became stronger than everything else.

I gripped the back of her thigh, resting her long toned leg over my shoulder to spread her wider, causing her to look down at me in the same moment I pushed my tongue inside her as deep as I could go, feeling the muscles of my jaw burning from exertion, but feeling my core burning a thousand times more when I heard a series of loud moans falling from her parted lips as her inner muscles clenched around me possessively.

The sensation was indescribable.

The delicious taste I found so deep inside of her made me even more reluctant to leave that blissful heat, but my task was not yet completed.

I pulled out only to return to pay attention to her throbbing clit, taking it into my mouth and sucking it until I felt her go rigid for a split second.

A loud strangled moan escaped from her throat.

The noise of her nails digging into the leather of the couch reached my ears.

And then she came.

Keeping my head in place with the now almost painful grip she had on my hair as she grind her center on my mouth and chin, feeling how the strong muscles of her thigh flexed involuntarly under my fingertips.

Following her broken movements wasn't easy, but I tried to keep my lips sealed around her, flicking my tongue over her clit, swallowing the wetness that I had gathered in my mouth.

Savouring her orgasm as it was my own, guiding her through the aftershock, hearing her moaning and cursing barely above a whisper with every wave of pleasure that assaulted her, until she was spent, and the hold on the back of my head loosened, gradually, returning to be the delicate, soft touch that made my heart skip a beat.

 **. . .**

I tried to take in as much air as I could, panting softly through my parted lips but only managing to swallow down a few small sips.

The pleasure of one of the most intenses orgasms I had just experienced was flowing through my veins, contracting every single muscles of my body, making it difficult to even take a proper deep breath in order to recover, and the very talented tongue that was still cleaning every drop of wetness she could find on me, wasn't helping either.

But it felt so damn good.

So I let her continue, until my heartbeat was finally under control.

With the unberable pressure between my legs out of the way I could concentrate fully on her, and I had no intention to wait a minute longer to do so.

I tilted my head down, meeting a pair of bright blue pools fluttering open in the moment I gave a small tug on the back of her neck.

All that I registered was seeing her pulling back from my center before she licked her lips, slowly, wiping away every trace of me from her mouth.

A new fire started inside of me in that moment, and an instant later, I was already bending to claim those glistening lips in another deep, passionate kiss.

She didn't hesitate to respond, garanting me access immediately parting her lips and making me groan into her mouth at the taste of myself mixed with her sweet, singular one as her tongue embraced mine in a battle for dominance that I won effortlessly, but that didn't stop her from trying.

I shifted forward in my seat, pushing her gently down so she could have lied down on her back on the large, soft, white alpaca carpet in front of the couch as I settled on top of her, smirking into the kiss when I felt her hands coming up to seek more contact with my skin, first resting them around my waist, then on my hips, parting and bending her legs at the knee so that I could have settled right between hers.

When I felt her lifting her hips and her center coming in contact with my lower abdomen, I ripped my lips from hers; the warm, wet patch she had left on my skin was something that I couldn't ignore, not for the second time since I had already neglected her obvious need in order for her to take care of my own first.

But now, nothing would have stopped me.

"I made you a promise before, didn't I?"

I whispered against her lips before pulling back a little and losing myself into the darker shade of blue that had clouded her eyes with lust, glad that in that position on the floor I had a very clear visual of her face thanks to the moon light that was illuminating the otherwise dark room.

She nodded, swallowing hard before letting out a small raspy "Yes..."

The touch of her hands made me shiver when she reached a very sensitive spot on my lower back, but I remained focused, resting my elbow on the carpet beneath us so that I could have supported myself while my other hand came up, softly tracing the side of her face with my fingertips.

"And since you have been so good to satisfy my request and did everything I wanted,"

I paused, enjoying watching her eyes becoming even darker with anticipation before I started placing soft kisses and bites along her jaw until I reached her ear.

"I'll even let you choose how do you want to come."

Her breath hitched in her throat right before she let out a small sob of arousal as I ran the tip of my tongue around the shell of her ear; my warm breath against such a sensitive area sent small shivers through her body.

I smirked against her neck, where I could smell her scent mixed with the chlorine of the pool and just a hint of sweat that had started to form there.

"Tell me how you want it..."

I kept the tone of my voice light, but loud enough so that she could still hear me as I continued my path of bites along her neck and throat, and when I received no answer, I looked up to see a soft blush covering her features along with the unmistakable look of arousal.

Knowing that I wasn't going to get a proper reponse, not yet at least, I decided to use another tactic.

"Do you want me to lick you and suck you until you won't have anything left to give me?"

I asked before going down to take one hard nipple between my lips and giving her a very suggestive idea of what I had just described.

What I received back was a long moan as her hands gripped firmly my hips and her back arched off the floor.

"Or maybe you want me to take you like this," I continued, returning up to whisper just below her ear as my hand ran for the length of her leg, feeling her hooking it immediately around my waist before I reached her core. "So that you can feel my fingers deep inside you,"

I grinned against her throat, just barely resisting the urge to bite the tender skin there when a sobbed "Please" left her lips and her hips started to lift as her hands cupped my ass, urging me forward.

"Good," I purred, coating my fingers in her wetness as I settled more comfortably between her legs. "Because this is exactly how I was hoping to fuck you."

I pulled back from her neck to look up at her before I continued, finding a pair of half lidded blue eyes filled with lust looking right into my own. "Just tell me how you want it..."

This time, she didn't hesitate, and words didn't fail her.

"Hard." She whispered, her fingernails dug into my ass cheeks hard enough to make me hiss through my teeth, but the sensation aroused me more especially for what she said next.

"Hard... and fast."

My stomach clenched and my inner muscles contracted repeatedly at her words while a low groan left my lips.

 _Hard and fast it is then._

I gave her my most arrogant smirk before I stopped my teasing touch on her clit only to go lower, pushing three fingers deep inside of her with one harsh thrust.

The look that crossed over her face before her eyes rolled back in her head and her lips parted to let out a long deep moan, was what made me pulse with need once again as her inner walls clenched tightly around me.

Unable to resist when she pushed her head back exposing the delicious column of her throat, I leaned forward to sank my teeth in her flesh, hard enough to make her scream and feel her fluttering around me, but not hard enough to leave any real damage.

The first thrust was hard and unforgiving and I slipped inside of her with nothing but a minimal resistance; she was so wet that I knew I could do it, but despite her request -that I had every intention to satisfy- I didn't want to hurt her, so I waited a couple of seconds for her to get used to the intrusion before I started pumping, buring my fingers deep inside till my knuckles before pulling back almost completely.

After not even a minute I had already picked up a steady, harsh rhythm, a rhythm that my guest seemed to enjoy very much given the sweet sounds I heard coming from her with every thrust, clinging to my shoulders as her hips lifted to try to take me in deeper.

The force that I used was brutal, the proof was on how much the muscles in my hand and forearm were starting to burn and cramping after only a few minutes and I knew that my guest was probably feeling said burning sensation even more, but the only thing I read on her face, was pure pleasure.

Her lips were parted, her eyes just barely open and looking into my own as I fucked her as hard as I could, as deep as I could, trying to hit that same spot I had discovered the first time, over and over, something that combined with the palm of my hand hitting her clit, earned me a small gasp of pleasure everytime.

I wanted to pay attention to even the other parts of her body, but, hearing those soft, sweet sounds coming from her, watching her face contorting with ecstasy with just a hint of occasional pain that made her furrow her eyebrow and dig her fingernails deeper into my flesh, was an exquisite sight; I couldn't divert my eyes from her. And I found myself wishing that she would have resisted just a bit longer, but my hopes were shattered when I felt her inner muscles clenching more frequently around me, her moans becoming louder, her breaths more shallow and her nails digging in deeper, enough to break the skin on my shoulders.

Her eyes opened just a little more and they were so dark that I could no longer distinguish the pupil from the iris. I could tell that she was close, so close that I was sure she would have come in any moment, but the look she gave me, wasn't holding just lust, it was pleading, a silent request for something I didn't know.

I placed my thumb over her clit circling it as accurately as I could given the hard thrust of my fingers, thinking that maybe all she needed was that extra push to take the edge off, but it wasn't.

Her back arched and I felt her contracting over and over around me, but it still wasn't enough.

Maybe she was just holding back like she had done the first time, but part of me wasn't convinced, so I just decided to ask.

"Tell me what you need," I whispered mere inches from her parted lips, feeling her gasps and moans caressing my own. "I want to feel you come," My voice sounded so deep and much huskier than usual. "Tell me what you need." I repeated another time, hoping to receive an answer, but she was breathless, too consumed in the feeling of my fingers pumping in and out of her to form a verbal response.

But I didn't need one.

Not when her eyes and her hand spoke for her.

Her gaze shifted from my eyes to look down at my lips in the same moment I felt her hand moving from my shoulder to rest on the back of my neck.

A gentle, tentative tug from her.

A cocky half grin from me.

And then I leaned forward for the rest of the way.

She came as soon as I pushed my tongue into her mouth.

Kissing her deeply as her inner muscles convulsed around me, releasing a gush of warmth from deep inside her when I continued to hit that sweet spot on her front wall, coating my hand and wrist, even part of my lower abdomen and thighs in her wetness.

I swallowed each one of her screams of pleasure, feeling her body trembling violently under me for the intensity of her orgasm for a several long moments until she started to recover, coming down from her heigh. Slowly.

My movement slowed down with hers; her hips stopped lifting from the carpet and the contraction around my fingers became weaker with every passing second, until she was completely spent under me and the only thing that kept moving, were our lips, embracing the ones of the other in a kiss that at some point, from an harsh and deep battle of tongues, had turned into a slow, soft brush of lips without me even realizing it.

But it felt so... pleasant.

So _right,_ that I couldn't stop... And I didn't want to.

Even her hands were no longer holding me with the same desperate need I felt before during the apex of her pleasure, as now one was resting on the back of my head, delicately running her fingers through my still slightly damp hair while I felt the other moving slowly from my collarbone, up to my neck until she cupped my jaw.

It was in that moment, that I felt the same presence of the persistent sensation that I felt rising from inside me when we were in the pool, and that I was sure I had left outside when we entered the living room and I pinned her against the door.

But I was wrong.

I tried to pull out my fingers from inside of her, knowing that it was probably becoming a little uncomfortable for the young woman beneath me, but as soon as I pulled back an inch and she realized what I was doing, her inner muscles clenched possessively around me before she ripped her lips from mine.

"Please..." She was still a little breathless, but that soft, tentative plea, couldn't have been more clear to me as I watched how her blue eyes reflected perfectly her words.

"Please, stay..."

The foreign sensation became stronger, starting a series of reactions inside of me that I had no idea could have been provoked only by a timid look and a soft breathless voice.

I nodded in consent, leaning in another time, not remaining so surprised when she caught my lips with her own more than eagerly but keeping the kiss as gentle as it was before.

It was something that I wasn't used to feel, something that caught me off guard for how quickly I felt that presence grow inside me, calming the wild beast that rested so close to my heart.

...But I liked it.

I permitted access to that sensation, feeling the last traces of frenzy dissipate and my kisses starting to match the softness of hers...

So I stayed.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi there!

You guys! You and all of your flattering reviews... I really can't say Thank You enough for your support and kindness, so I decided to give you this super incredibly very long chapter :D

So... Ready for the ride? ;)

Enjoy

* * *

It was a quiet day at the museum. Small groups of people, just a few tourists and a couple of schoolchildren arrived from outside the city, were silently making their way from one room towards the next.

The steps echoing in the large room and the soft whispers exchanged between them were the only sounds audible, and I was glad that they mantained and respected the comforting silence that this place required, which was also exactly what I needed at the moment.

The bright sun rays were bringing a warm touch on the cold marble statues in the exhibition hall, and suddenly, I wasn't so surprised that the museum was so desolated that afternoon.

It was a particularly beautiful day outside. The temperature had raised of a couple of degrees, enough to make it seems like it was a classic pleasantly warm spring day instead of a mid-autumn afternoon. Everyone was probably taking advantage of the good weather, going to the zoo or even simply taking a walk in the park and enjoying the rare warm kiss of the sun against the skin in this period before the freezing wind would have arrived to change the season, leaving light cuts on hands and cheeks, like small sharp ice razors.

But I liked it here. It was something that I always did the day before an exam.

Returning at home after class would have just made me anxious and insecure, thinking that I needed more time to prepare, and all of that would have been the exact opposite of what I needed to feel.

Taking some time for myself before something so important, turned out to be the best thing to not enter into a panicking moment and put everything I had worked so hard for in jeopardy.

But that day, I was much more calmer than usual, more serene than I had been in a while as my eyes scanned the majestic sculptures in the room with particular care, admiring them from a different perspective from the one I was used to look at them before.

Maybe it was the warmth of the sun streaming through the large windows that made them appear even more attractive to my eyes, or maybe the comforting silence of the room hadme more focused on their details while I walked silently between them as if a more heavy step would have awaken them from their eternal position.

Whatever it was, it had the soothing effect I was hoping I would have gotten by taking some time away from my books and notes before the big day, and I couldn't have been more relieved.

But said sense of relief lasted just for a few seconds before something hit me in the moment that my eyes landed on the next statue.

The silence was pleasant and comforting but it also meant that beside the pieces of art that surrounded me I had nothing but my thoughts to keep me company, like many bees buzzing in the hive, and if said thoughts happened to be combined with a classical Greek statue representing a naked goddess, there was nothing that would have stopped my mind from replaying the last recent events that I knew, for how much I tried to tell myself otherwise, had shifted something inside me.

I stopped dead in my tracks, almost paralyzed, but not so much for the statue where I laid my eyes on, but for the memory that brought up, the one of another naked body.

A body with perfect alabaster skin, whose curves and muscles were as defined as the ones of the sculpture before me.

A warm shiver ran down my spine, making me gasp silently for air when a series of images started to appear in my mind as my eyes fluttered shut just for a second.

Thin filaments of steam raised from her body at the contrast of the cold night air.

Drops of water glistened on her skin like small perfect pearls.

I tried to open my eyes, but my willpower wasn't enough, my body was already too far gone when the second round of images flashed in front of me, leaving me breathless, hopeless under their incredibly powerful effect as they assaulted me.

I had to lean against the nearest wall to support myself as my head started to spin and my knees had turned into jelly; feeling suddenly mocked by all the sculptures in the hall, as if they were laughing at me for the weakness that a warm living body could feel.

In that moment, when such invalidating sensations hit me so violently, I envied them.

But it was all in my head, those irrational thoughts were just in my immagination...

But all the rest wasn't.

The deep sultry voice didn't seem to whisper just from my memories.

The hand that was massaging the back of my neck as I tried to relax the tense muscles there, didn't feel mine anymore, it was solid, but gentle and strangely comforting at the same time.

My core clenched, remembering clearly when I felt that hold on the back of my head a few nights previous, remembering the harshness and the painful grip on my hair that turned into the exact opposite just a few moments later.

I felt my heart started to jump furiously into my chest, heard the blood rushing into my ears and the andrenaline coursing through my veins with such intensity that my entire body trembled.

I was reaching a dangerous point, but I wasn't able to do anything to stop all those sensations, and when I found an irresistible smirk on soft, full, rosy lips that only invited my gaze to look up and meet a pair of bright green eyes looking right into my own with that particular light and look that I found myself hopelessly attracted to, I was sure it was the final blow that would had taken away the last rational and controlled part I had left inside me.

And if it wasn't for a distracted tourist that had collided with me against the wall making me snap my eyes open, startled for the sudden contact, I don't think I would have ever recovered on my own from what I was experiencing.

I had to blink a few more times before my vision could adjust again to the light and when they finally focused on the surrounding, I realized that I wasn't scanning my eyes over the naked glistening body underneath a perfect starry sky, or staying in a living room illuminated only by the moonlight, naked and resting against a wall with the body of the same protagonist of my thoughts pressed close to mine.

After a few more seconds, the background sounds finally reached my ears, with the more loud chatting of the large group of tourists that was walking just past me and into the next room.

Breathing became a little more easy, but my heart didn't give any indication that it was going to slow down anytime soon while I was still feeling the effects that those sensations and the very vivid details of that night were having on me.

I tried my best to regain control, resisting the temptation to close my eyes for more than a blink, knowing that those memories were still there, ready to assault me at any moment and drag me back to make me relieve every second, feel every wave of pleasure of a night that couldn't have been compared with any other... And of a woman with long dark hair and bright expressive green eyes whom somehow was always there ready to find her way back into my head.

And I always permitted it.

Her presence was as magnetic and captivating in my thoughts as it was in reality.

I pushed myself away from the wall, shaking my head as if the gesture would have been enough to regain control over such a consuming experience.

It wasn't, but at least I managed to take a few steps, feeling the blood flow back into my legs from where just a moment before I could feel it gathered in the same spot that was starting to pulse with a very familiar need.

Try to focus on what surrounded me was what that helped me a little more; if there was something that could have distracted me from a persistent thought, was my undying passion and curiosity. And at the moment all I needed was a distraction, just one, to be able to push those sensations aside, and luckily, I got a good one when my eyes landed on the statue of a wounded Amazon.

The fact that respect the previous one this one was almost fully clothed, helped a great deal; another perfectly sculptured nude feminine body would have been enough to neutralize every progress I had just made, but what I wasn't expecting as I examined the statue more closely, was to feel the sudden, burning desire to do something that I hadn't done in a while.

My eyes remained fixed on her, my eyebrows slightly furrowed with particular interest as I took a couple of steps back to sit on the stone bench behind me.

The sensation became stronger and my hands started itching in a way that I had almost forgotten.

I placed my shoulder bag beside me, diverting my gaze only long enough to pull out the necessary couple of things I needed from the bag and that I carried always along with me in case something like this happened, but remaining surprised that I felt the URGE for the first time in months.

The texture of the small stick of charcoal felt so familiar in my hand, as if I had never abbandoned it or released it from the hold between my fingers, and when it encountered the sketchbook resting on my knees, my hand flowed sinuously thought the white paper like in a delicate caress.

Confidence grew inside me with every new line traced and the need to continue increased the more the sketch on the paper started to take form, trying to be as accurate as possible in representing the position and all the details that made this piece so compelling.

And just when I thought that I was completely absorbed and focused in an aspect of my passion that hadn't found me for so long and that I realized exactly how much I had missed only when I felt the naturalness with which my hand continued to move through the paper, the burning desire that brought me to draw in the first place, shifted, and started to grow into something else.

I should have known that it was only a matter of time before I was once again assaulted by those same persistent sensations brought up by thoughts that reappeared in the same moment that I traced the delicate curve of a breast, the form of a lightly muscular arm, the length of a pair of long toned legs, where the light of the sun was replaced in my head by the colder one of the moon, but that had a very flattering effect of the body that I was picturing in my mind.

I hadn't listened to that voice that was telling me that it wouldn't have been so simple to get rid of something so magnetic, so powerful that was always around the corner, ready to get you in any moment.

My hand trembled slightly, but I continued to draw as I took in a long deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.

But the images were so clear in my mind, so fresh and vivid that I could almost taste them on my lips. I could replay the feeling of her smooth, creamy skin under my fingertips, and feel the response on my own flesh, harsher at first, then more delicate and genlte, but most of all, as my eyes closed for a second longer and inhaled deeply through my nose, I could have sworn I had smelled her scent.

Orange blossom and ginger leaves.

Mixed with something unique and _hers_ that couldn't have been described in a lifetime.

...It felt so real.

It filled my nostrils and it sent a pang of arousal right between my legs.

I was so consumed by it that I was only brought back into reality when I felt a near presence.

But when my eyes fluttered open and I turned my head to look at the person that had taken a seat beside me on the small decorated stone bench, I reconsidered the fact that I was probably still trapped into my own immagination and into my memories as the face of the person whom had hunted my thoughts for the past few days, appeared in front of me.

That small irresistible amused smirk firmily in place.

Piercing green eyes shining from behind black rimmed glasses.

I stopped breathing. And I was pretty sure that I felt my heart stopping beating too.

My eyes widened as if I had just seen a ghost.

My hands became immediately sweaty, and the stick of charcoal slipped from my gentle grasp just like her name slipped from my lips in a breathless, incredulous whisper.

"Alex..."

 **. . .**

It was the first time that I heard her saying my name, and under the surprise, that I showed lifting my eyebrow and widening the smirk already playing on my lips, I could feel another sensation making its way into my chest.

"Hey, Piper..."

At the sound of her name leaving my lips she seemed to snap back into reality, blinking a few times to clear her vision, as if she was almost expecting me to disappear in any moment.

It took her a couple of more seconds, during which I had to try really hard to not show exactly how amused I was by her reaction, but then she recovered, offering me a timid smile and a soft blush before she greeted me with a shaky "Hi..."

"I thought it was you that I saw sitting here," I continued, unable to not enjoy a little how slowly she seemed to register my presence beside her.

Her eyebrow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Y-you have been here for long?"

Despite the small smile that was firmily in place on her lips, I couldn't not hear the hint of anxiety in her voice or see the way her eyes widened a bit more, recognizing those signs as if she was suddenly feeling exposed for having been caught off guard.

And knowing how much the young woman could feel nervous or uncomfortable in certain situations, I decided to not make her wait longer before answering her even if that meant stop enjoying -innocently- the small panicked look that flashed into those clear blue eyes.

I chuckled softly. "No, not really... Just arrived in this floor actually."

That seemed to reduce her anxiety more than what I expected, watching how her shoulders relaxed and how her features softened further. "Decided to spend the afternoon at the museum?"

My smirk grew into an honest smile, pleased that she had shown interest in starting a conversation with me. Part of me was worried that maybe coming here and sit next to her wasn't such a great idea, that there was a big chance that it would have been maybe a bit awkward or too uncomfortable for her, but... As soon as I had seen her, looking so small in that stone bench and with that look of deep concentration on her face, my legs had already started to bring me towards her.

It was a force that I couldn't ignore.

"Not exactly," I answered her, watching how her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, speaking for her as if they were saying "What do you mean?"

"I'm not a visitor today..." But as I should have expected, that only made her appear more confused, even if she tried to mask it with a soft "Oh..." Curious to know about my presence at the metropolitan but not wanting to pry.

But that was enough for me to continue, finally giving her a proper answer.

"I know a friend here... She's an amazing restorer and I asked her if she could take care of one of the paintings I have."

This time she smiled at me, even if still timidly.

"But it seems that I have distracted you from an inspiring moment..." I said shifting my gaze to look from her to the sketchbook resting on her knees, her hand still frozen in place and covering most of the draw.

I saw her eyes widening slightly before her gaze followed mine. "Oh, this..." Her hand moved and the rest of the draw was revealed. "It's nothing, I was just..."

But I didn't catch the new brightest blush that appeared on her face, because my attention had turned to the accurate chorcoal sketch that she had drawn of the statue standing just in front of the bench.

"It's a very impressive work actually." I praised her sincerely, shifting a bit closer towards her to take a better look; being able to hear her breaths becoming more shallow even when great part of my attention wasn't on her.

"Thanks..." She said, softly, a little breathless as she started to play unconsciously with the piece of chorcoal in her hand, leaving black residue on her fingertips.

"You really gave her justice even in the paper, the perspective make her almost look three dimensional, and your technique is extraordinary."

I raised my gaze just in time to see a full, dimpled smile formed on her face, noticing how the blush that was there had turned into a very flattering shade of pink on her cheeks.

A sight that hit me in places that I felt shift inside me since a few nights previous, when I had seen her in a very different situation and with much less clothes on.

A few flashes of that night appeared in front of me for a second, images where I was on top of her and she was writhing in pleasure beneath me as I touched her in the most intimate way and kissing her with a passion that I didn't know could affect me so strongly for such a simple, delicate contact.

"Thank you..." Her voice was what pulled me back from those incredibly pleasant thoughts and confusing sensations, but I recovered pretty quickly, especially when I heard her asking curiously yet shyly "Do you know this piece?"

Her eyes were shining as she looked between the statue in front of her and me, with the same light and look I noticed on her face when I saw her admiring the painting in the hallway at my place.

"No," I answered never diverting my eyes from her face, fascinated and attracted by that look full of amazement. "But if you are going to describe it to me with the same accuracy and ability you have used to describe my painting the other night, then I'm all ears."

I meant each word, but I couldn't help not throw her a wink when I saw her looking a bit more flustered when I mentioned the other night.

She smiled softly through her blush, diverting her gaze from me to look once again at the statue before she started, capturing my attention since the beginning.

"The name of the piece says pratically everything that someone needs to know; it represents a wounded Amazon. They were-"

"A mythical race of worrior women." I interrupted her, enjoying the full smile that she gave me for my intervention instead of looking annoyed by my interruption.

"Yes, that's correct, and here she is represented with a garment known as exomis, that was usually worn by Greek men for exercise or horse riding."

I leaned forward a little listening intently to everything she was saying as my eyes scanned the statue standing just a couple of steps before me.

"Despite the fact that she is wounded, she doesn't show any sign of pain. The serenity of the pose and the emotional restraint in her facial expression are characteristics of the Classical sculpture of this age, and the gesture of the arm resting gracefully on her head it was used to denote sleep or death."

"By this age what do you mean?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows briefly, hoping that she would have forgiven my ignorance in the matter.

"Oh, sorry..." She shook her head distractly as if she had realized that she was suppoused to explain every detail, smiling broadly at me when she raised her gaze to meet mine once again. "Around the second half of the fifth century B.C. but the date is referred to the original piece which was a Greek bronze. This," She indicated to the staute in front of her. "Is a Roman copy. The statue was created for a competition between five great famous sculptors, who were to make a statue for an Amazon in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, on the coast of Asia minor, where the Amazons had the legendary connection with the goddess."

The passion she had for this subject was evident, astonishment dripped from every word that left her lips and it was really entertaining to see that particular look on her face.

"Well, once again you succeeded in rendering me speachless." I said at last throwing at her another smirk.

The confidence with which she had just described the statue to me, faded slowly, showing the shy young woman that was underneath and who could wear a blush with an elegance that I had never seen before.

"There is more that I could say about this, but then it would be more like an history lesson..."

She offered me a small smile before tilting her head down, looking at the sheets of paper resting on her knees.

"I see you have been trying to restore the missing hand..." I said as soon as I noticed the other few draws beside the one of the sculpture where she had chosen the detail of the arm resting on the pillar but not having been able to recreate the hand. "You know which was the original position?"

She fiddled nervously with the piece of charcoal in her hand as she answered me.

"Yeah, but I couldn't picture it in my mind... It should be resting. A relaxed pose."

"You mean," I raised from the seat to go in front of the statue, turning to face her sitting on the bench as I placed my forearm on the support at the base letting my hand dangle from the edge. "Like this?"

I had seen the frown of confusion appear in her face as soon as I stood from the seat, but now, said look had turned into something way different.

Her eyes widened slightly and she tilted her head to the side just a little as if she wanted to take a look from a different angle. It was when I was going to withdraw my arm that she spoke, just to stop me, softly. Gently. "Please, stay like this."

 _Please, stay._

Those words echoed in my ears, from the memory of a very fresh event, of a very singular night. A different night in so many levels that those words were enough to send back to me the same sensations that I felt running inside me in those moments, where I was on top of her, skin to skin, feeling my heart pump furiously into my chest while wave after wave of pleasure assaulted her as she clung desperately to me.

It wasn't the first time that I found myself thinking back to that specific moment in the past few days, and I shouldn't have been so surprised that the effect that it had on me was always the same even if nothing intimate was happening between the two of us.

It was actually a bit _strange_ for me to see her here, not in the museum, but like this, in a very different circumstance, and I almost didn't recognize her at first, dressed so casual, not at all surprised that she looked elegant and yeah, even sexy, only wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white sweater, with her hair pulled into an improvised bun with a pencil.

I couldn't help but smile, biting down on my bottom lip to try to contain said smile from growing into another amused smirk when I noticed that the sweater was actually a turtleneck and that the weather outside was actually pleasantly warm that day for her to wear it if not for... Other reasons.

"Finished." I blinked a few times, watching as she softened the black shadows a bit more using the side of her pinky on the draw before she raised her gaze to look at me with a bright satisfied smile that had this strange effect on me, like a fluttering sensation in my stomach.

But I tried to not pay too much attention to it even if it was quite distracting as I took the couple of steps to sit next to her on the bench, curious to see the result.

"Wow." It slipped from my lips with nothing but complete admiration and amazement.

Even if the pose was relaxed, she managed to capture every vein and tendon of my hand and the exact shape of my nails, reproducing a perfect picture, which realism was accentuated even more by the sfumato effect of the shadows.

The fact that she had captured so many details in just a couple of minutes and that the result was nothing less than a perfect reproduction of my hand on paper, amazed me as much as her knowledge of the history of art.

She beamed at me, fully, showing those graceful dimples on her cheeks that made her look even younger.

"You are very talented, kid."

The blush that had disappeared for some time returned with a vengeance on her face as soon as she heard me calling her like that; something that I had repeatedly done during our previous... encounters.

Once again she thanked me, softly, before with nonchalance and pulling a strand of hair behind her ear with such a graceful gesture she said "I think I just needed a model..." But what she added next, was something that I definitely wasn't expecting her to say, but that both surprised and pleased me very much. "And... You have very beautiful hands."

My gaze turned down to my hands, to look at the weapons that I used everyday.

Maybe, if she knew what they were capable of, if she knew how dangerous they were, how many horrible things they could do, how many lives I had taken using nothing but them, using just the right pressure in the right, most vulnerable spots of the human body... She probably wouldn't have said that...

But at the moment, when I raised my gaze and saw the sincerity of her words into bright blue eyes that held the same light I had found myself lost into more than once, and the same soft innocent blush, in that moment, I smiled. Sincerely.

Because for the first time, as I looked at her, those dark thoughts were the furthest thing from my mind.

"Thanks."

For a moment she looked like she was going to take my hand; at some point we had shifted to stay a little closer, it was probably me when I leaned in to look at her drawings, so close that I could smell her scent; the exact same one that I smelled on her skin the first night I met her.

And the reaction was immediate, her scent stirred that part inside of me that was insatiable. But restraining it was easier this time, and somehow I knew it wasn't just because I was in a very pubblic place and partially surrounded by people.

Somehow I knew it had something to do with her presence.

Just like it was last time that it happened, the first time that someone beside me had succeded in quieting the ever vigilant beast inside me without even meaning to.

"You're welcome..."

There it was again, the same softness in her voice and the same timid smile on her lips.

Maybe Nicky was right, maybe it was her shyness and the look of innocence that appealed to me... But when I looked right into her eyes and I remembered seeing them darkening with desire, or the lust filled looks that she gave me during the previous nights, I changed idea immediately.

There was something else about this young woman that stimulated my curiousity and warmed some hidden, foreign places inside of me that I found myself attracted to.

And I wanted to know more.

"I really need to go now," I said through a small smirk, not missing the brief look of disappointment that flashed in her eyes before she said "Oh... Of course."

The rational, controlled part of me, the one that I trusted the most, was telling me that what I had in mind wasn't a good idea, but the other one, the one that had been silent for so much time and that seemed to became so strangely comfortable with her around, spoke up.

"I have been invited to a private exhibition of paintings," I continued enjoying the way her eyes lit up with a sense of anticipation before I even finished, pulling out the invitation from the pocket of my jacket and a pen to write down my number. "And I think it would be very interesting to have the opinion on the paintings from an art student." I concluded handing her the decored invitation card which she took with a slightly trembling hand, our fingers brushing together for only an instant but sending sparks of electricity through my body.

"W-wait, you know I'm a student?" She asked looking very confused.

I chuckled, unable to resist the urge in front of her reaction. "Well, I think that your competence in the matter and the skills in your drawning speak loud enough. And the textbook you are using as an hard surface on your knees says the rest. But the real confirmation, is the one you have just given to me."

I winked at her as I stood, enjoying the new blush that had appeared on her face.

"Just," I hesitated a bit, considering my words carefully. "Let me know if you are interested..."

I gave her the invitation, I made sure I didn't ask for her to come, but somehow, I still managed to give her the power to choose what to do, exposing myself more than what I thought possible.

I saw her beaming when she looked at the piece of paper in her hand, recognizing the excitement on her young face and into those blue pools when her gaze returned to me.

She had just given to me the answer with that look, but it was even more entertaining when I heard the well educated student who could describe a painting with the same accurancy of a book, stumbling on her own words.

"Yes! I mean... I would lo-" She stopped, her cheeks becoming a deep shade of red as she realized how much enthusiasm could be heard in her voice before she cleared her throat and tried again. "I-I mean... I-I'll let you know... Thank you."

I just smiled at her, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smirking.

"It was good to see you, Piper."

The way her name rolled off my tongue was so natural, as if I was used to say it every day.

She returned me the smile, the shy one that seemed to be permanent on her face.

"You too... Alex."

But the way she said my name, keeping the A strong but the X at the end so soft and just barely audible...

I inhaled deeply, feeling the fluttering starting once again, this time a bit lower as I replayed it in my head while I walked towards the exit, leaving behind a dozen of cold marble statues and one blushing blonde, feeling her eyes on me until I disappeared into the crowd.


	13. Chapter 13

Hi everyone!

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the previous chapter :D And now I'm back with a new one for you :)

Enjoy

* * *

The broad smile that I had on my face wasn't enough to show exactly how happy I was at the moment, how relieved and light I felt as I walked down the street.

The maximum grade.

My smile became even bigger and a couple of people on the sidewalk looked at me funny, but I didn't care.

The last exam, the dreaded one, was finally out of the way and now I could finally focus all of my attentions on my thesis.

My hands were still trembling and my whole body felt incredibly energized with a rush of adrenaline that I was afraid I couldn't have contained it all inside me, I needed to do something to release some of it if I had intention to get some sleep that night, so I decided to take the longer path across the park instead of taking the subway to return at home.

It was just noon and the day was as beautiful as the previous one; the sky was incredibly clear, a bright blue with just a few white frothy clouds occupying it as the rays of the sun streamed through the trees like it would through the stained glass of a cathedral, and the effect it had on the surrounding was incredibly beautiful.

The illumination was perfect and when I arrived at the usual spot that I occupied in front of the lake when I walked in the park, for the second time in two days, I was caught by the same itching urge to draw that I felt the previous day.

My heart started beating a little faster and I felt a small smile forming on my lips as I thought about the fortunate encounter at the museum with Alex.

Alex...

Her name sounded so good in my head, as good as it tasted on my lips and tongue.

A small irrational part of me was still convinced that it was because of how much I was absorbed in my memories of the last events that she had appeared from nowhere right beside me in that small bench, as if I had evoked her physical presence just with the power of thought.

The woman was still such an enigmatic and attractive mystery to me, she was never far away from my thoughts and her presence in my mind was becoming more persistent the more I tried to push those sensations away, until I finally gave up.

The only moment when I hadn't actually thought about her was during my exam which had lasted about an hour.

I pulled out the sketchbook from my bag and opened it in front of me as I leaned against a tree.

The draw of her hand was the first thing that I saw. The sight of long delicate fingers was what made me feel a sudden rush of warmth through my body, knowing exactly how talented they were and remembering very clearly how much pleasure they had brought to me even when she was just exploring every part of my body, caressing every inch of skin she found.

I could feel the euphoria that was running thorugh my veins dissolving and becoming something else as I found myself tracing the back of that hand with my fingertips, caressing the cords of the tendons there which ran up to meet on a thin but strong wrist.

I blushed when I remembered saying that she had beautiful hands; I was almost expecting another one of those playful smirk in return from her, but then she surprised me when I received a true, honest smile, a smile that relaxed her features and made her eyes look softer. A soft shade of mystic green that I kept seeing everytime I closed my eyes.

I reached for the stick of charcoal into my bag with the intention to start drawing, deciding to remain standing even if it was a more uncomfortable position, but liking the perspective I had of the lake in front of me and the buildings showing in the distance just behind the trees, feeling a bit disappointed that I hadn't my fine oil pastels with me to capture all the amazing bright colours that I saw surrounding the park.

I turned the page of the sketchbook for a new sheet to start drawing, just to find the other thing that had been in my mind since it was given to me.

My heartbeats increased immediately and my hands became so shaky that I wouldn't have been able to draw anything anymore, so I placed down the piece of charcoal to pick up the white invitation card with the elegant writing of the private exhibition.

It looked like some of those letters that someone expected to receive from some kind of private club, and considering how _whealty_ was the woman whom had given it to me, from what I had seen, the thought didn't seem so absurd.

But Alex hand't just handed it to me.

She had _invited_ me.

My heart skipped a beat and the smile on my lips grew bigger than the one that had formed on my lips when I was told about the grade of my exam.

She had wrote down her phone number on it, telling me to let her know if I was interested.

I was.

And she knew it too thanks to the excitement that had slipped in my voice before I could control myself.

Part of me was impatient to call her to give her the confirmation since the moment I had returned at home the previous evening, but the other part of me, the one that wasn't guided by my excitement and by that... _something_... that was always present when the raven haired woman was involved in my thoughts, was asking questions above questions.

I decided to sit on the grass placing my shoulder bag beside me, taking a deep breath as I replayed over and over the way she had not-directly asked me to come and I wondered if maybe she was asking me to be her escort for the evening, or if she just wanted me simply as her _plus one_ that was indicated in the decorated card.

Even if it could have seemed thin or even not existant for someone else, the difference between the two things was enormous for me.

But then I remembered our short conversation, they way she seemed truly interested in what I was telling her about the statue, how much she looked both suprised and amazed by my drawings and most of all, the way she smiled at me. Not the usual playful smirks that she gave me as soon as I saw her sitting beside me or like the other ones that I saw her throwing at me during the previous nights.

The ones she gave me as she complimented me and then as she invited me to the exhibition, were sincere.

 _It would be very interesting to have the opinion of an art student..._

I closed my eyes as I replayed that line in my head another time, remembering her gentle tone, the sincerity that I saw in her eyes and the same authentic smile that didn't hold malice, but a bit of hesitancy and... Was there a hint of hope?

I felt something swelling into my chest and I had to intake a much needed sip of air at the unexpected sensation as my eyes fluttered open and realization set into me.

My heart started beating a little faster.

"She wants to go with _me_." I said under my breath in a incredulous whisper as my eyes widened before another smile tugged at my lips.

I heard my phone buzzing, pulling me back from those thoughts but not completely, the idea that she wanted to go with _me_ , or at least with the _art student_ in me, was always there in the back of my mind even when I pulled my phone out from the pocket of my jacket to meet the bright screen and the icon which indicated a new text message.

It was from Sylvia.

 _Hey sweetness, I have an assignment for you. Tomorrow night. Let me know as soon as possible._

Right to the point.

I released a defeated, tired sigh, feeling my stomach clenching in the same unpleasant way it always did when I received something from her, knowing that she wasn't checking to know how I was doing. She didn't like to spend time with pleasantries and I knew since I saw her message that it was for work.

The same old, heavy sense of anxiety settled in my chest, one that I had managed to forget for almost two entire days.

I reread the text, sighing quietly.

Another night of work meant more money... And I really needed them.

But then my gaze shifted on the card that was still in my hand, looking at the elegant writing of the invitation and at the number written with black ink on the angle, seeing in my mind that same soft smile on her lips that appeared when she handed it to me... And I took a decision.

Taking in a shaky breath and feeling a new rush of adrenaline starting to run through my veins, I placed the card on the open sketchbook resting on my crossed legs and then I typed back a message.

 _Hey, thank you for thinking of me, but I can't for tomorrow night. Sorry._

I pressed send before I could have reconsidered my very spontaneous actions, knowing that if I was to reread the message I would have changed my idea.

I had never said no to Sylvia before.

And a great part of me was sure that she wasn't going to be pleased by my answer.

But I couldn't ignore how I was feeling a minute before when I realized that Alex had shown an interest in my person that no one else had ever showed before.

I took the card in my hand once again, but my hands were shaking so hard that I had to place it down in order to take in some fresh air and try to calm myself as a new much more pleasant sense of nervousness settled in my stomach along with the same flutters that spread into my chest.

I had to use both of my hands to compose the number, feeling the phone slipping from my grasp when I pressed the call icon.

I told myself that it was for the excitement of the exhibition.

"A private exhibition." I said outloud as if I wanted to reinforce what I wanted to believe.

But not fooling myself even a bit, knowing that it was for another reason.

The phone rang.

For something else.

Another ring.

For _someone_ else...

"Hello?"

At the sound of her voice, my heart skipped a beat and all the air was suddenly sucked from my lungs.

No...

I couldn't fool myself any longer.

"H-hi Alex... It's Piper..."

 **. . .**

"Whoa!"

Nicky's comment as I entered her office on the ground floor wasn't something I wouldn't have expected, but the low whistle that followed, was definitely something new.

"Are you serious?" I asked trying to not chuckle and raising an eyebrow as I looked at her reclined form on the chair in front of the eight computer's screens, feet up on the desk.

She paused the vid she was watching and took a few chips from the packet that she held in her lap, before giving me this very long appreciative look, scanning her eyes up and down my dress, nodding in appreciation until she reached my boots, and then she stopped chewing.

"The boots might be a little... too much... but that depens on what's the occasion sister."

She spoke through a mouth full of potato chips.

I looked at my mid calf boots, not seeing anything wrong with them.

"What do you mean with 'too much'?" I asked looking at her with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Uh uh, first I want to know where are you going looking so hot at this hour. I haven't seen you in a dress in a while..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened, it would have been quite comical actually if I didn't know what that look meant.

"Jesus Christ drunk on a bike... You are meeting with someone!"

Busted.

I narrowed my eyes at her but she just grinned at me, pulling her feet away from the desk before leaning in on the edge of her chair to face me completely.

"Who is she?" She asked lifting her eyebrows suggestively before taking some more potato chips as if she was watching a movie.

I pinched the bridge of my nose under the glasses sighing and cursing softly under my breath, knowing that she wasn't letting this one just go, but I tried anyway to divert the conversation from her question.

"I've been invited to a private exhibition of paintings in the city tonight. It was Jamie who gave me the invitation when I went to the Metropolitan two days ago to ask her if she could restore the Turner's landscape..."

Luckily she seemed satisfied by my answer. "Oh okay, so you are going with J?"

But not enough apparently.

I considered carefully what I was going to say next. "I... am sure she will be there."

I reassured with a nod, trying to ignore the suspicious look that she threw at me, hoping that she wouldn't have asked something else.

Not such luck.

"Why do I feel like there is something more _juicy_ under all of this?" She inquired with an amused smirk as she shifted in her seat to cross her legs.

"There's nothing _juicy_ about this Nicky, it's just a night in the city with a bunch of people and some paintings." I tried to look casual but she wasn't having any of it.

She knew me too damn well.

"Exactly!" Her exclamation made me even more worried. "So why the sexy tight black dress, the accurate hairstyle and the red lipstick that seems to scream 'kiss me' on those fabulous lips of yours?"

At that I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I take it that I look nice, good..." I said through a small chuckle when I recovered.

"You look gorgeous, Alex." This time she winked, giving me a lopsided smile.

There was nothing provocative about how Nicky had complimented my look in such a direct way; we had been friend for such a long time that we were just incredibly comfortable around each other and enjoyed being playful sometimes, and she didn't call me sister just because she liked the sound of it. For me she really was like one.

"And you know you can tell me everything, right?" She asked with that hint of concern that I recognized immediately even if she kept it masked under that smile.

Here she got me.

I hated to keep something from Nicky.

Like hated with a capital H.

But at the moment I was already under the effect of so many emotions and contrasting sensations that I didn't think I could have supported the weight of something else upon me.

I had no idea how Nicky would have reacted knowing that that night I was going to meet the same young woman whom had been at my place twice as an high class escort and that I had invited as a guest to the exhibition.

Part of me wanted to tell her, but the other one was incredibly reluctant to do so.

I guess that I just needed to figure out something myself first thought that storm that was running inside me, and that I tried to keep at bay in every way I could ever since I had received her call the previous afternoon, hearing the softness in her voice and picturing her in my mind with that same attractive blush on her cheeks as she asked me if my offer was still standing.

I bit down on my lips as soon as I felt that same stubborn smile that formed whenever my thoughts drifted towards her, catching it just in time before Nicky could become more suspicious.

"I know... I just need to know more about this first..." I answered trying to play cool but succeeding only at half, showing my slightly nervousness as I fiddled with the button of the coat resting around my arm, hoping that she would have understood.

She did.

And she smiled at me, feeling relieved that she wasn't feeling excluded or upset for my choice to not say whom I was meeting and what was going through my mind at the moment.

"No rush, take all the time you need boss. Just know that I'm here... Now," To my incredible delight, the playfulness returned to lighten the mood and I started breathing more easily. "There is something you needed since you came in to disturb my incredibly busy evening?" She asked feign annoyance.

Something that made me snort and shake my head in amusement. "You were watching cartoons and eating chips, Nicky..." After so many years, I still couldn't believe how much the genius that was my friend resembled a little kid sometimes.

"Yeah, and I can't watch porn until you'll get out so, make it quick." And whom could also turn into a pervert in a split second...

But I just chuckled humorously. "I need the car keys and you have them."

She looked at me with a new surprised expression. "You're taking the baby girl to the city?"

Trying to dissuade Nicky from calling my Corvette zr1 a _'baby girl'_ had turned into an impossible task since the moment I brought her home.

"Yeah, I don't want to be late and I think a little run on the highway will be good for the engine." I said shifting in my spot and diverting my gaze from Nicky's.

It was a lame excuse and she knew it too.

I had never drove in the city with that car, it was too powerful to spend all that energy stuck into traffic, and find a place to park in Manhattan was a nightmare.

I heard her standing from the chair and pulling out the keys from her jeans before she spoke. "You could have called the driver you know, Al?"

It wasn't a complain, but the suspicious tone had returned in her voice and I knew that I needed to get out before she would have started with another round of questions.

"I sent her to pick her up... I didn't want her to take a cab to meet me at the exhibition and I want to be there before she arrives." I explained to her shrugging my shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal.

She nodded biting on her lips to keep from smirking like she did before. "So, let me get this straight..." Then she paused, shaking her head as she reconsidered at the last moment what to say. "You know what? Forget about the _straight_ part. I'm curious as hell to know whom this mysterious lady is, but I won't ask anything. Here." She threw the keys at me and I caught them in mid-air with my free hand. "Have fun, boss. Oh, and enjoy the new stereo. You know, if you want to set the mood." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me, making me chuckle softly.

"Thanks Nicky." I really appreciated that she respected my choice. If I wouldn't have met Piper at the museum the other day, and if I didn't know that art and Nicky couldn't have been combined even with a mixer, I would have invited her that night at the exhibition.

"Yeah, yeah now get out of here before I change my mind and start with the 20 questions game. Just..." Here she became concerned again and smiled softly at me. "Stay out of trouble kid."

A smile that I could only return sincerely. "Don't worry..." I put on my coat before I turned to leave. "You have all the house for yourself and you know where the good stuff to drink is, just try not to start a rave party while I'm out."

I teased her back since she kept threating me like a kid sometimes, despite the fact that I was the older one of the two.

"Fine! I'll just call a few strippers then!" She called after me, hearing my own laughs echoing in the large foyer before I exited.

One of the reasons because I decided not to call the driver was because I wanted to be alone for sometime, and driving was one of the few things that helped me to think.

The short conversation with Nicky had managed to push aside only a minimal part of what I felt growing inside me and that clenched my stomach with a sensation that I didn't know how I should have interpreted, but that I couldn't deny it felt strangely pleasant once it started spreading further up.

But what I felt made me also feel frustrated and disoriented because it was something that I had never experienced before.

As I drove and watched the city taking form in front of me, I felt just like the powerful car that I was driving; even if I had all the space I needed and the engine was roaring to life under the pressure I was putting on the accellerator, feeling the leather steering wheel just barely vibrating in my grip despite the high speed, I knew it wasn't showing its full potential and essence. Just like I felt the wild beast inside of me beign restrained by a force that wasn't directly linked to me whenever I found myself thinking about her, thinking about the shy young woman whom I was going to meet that evening, feeling in particular one sensation surface and making all the others pale in comparison for its intensity.

I finally arrived, stopping the car right in front of the building, watching a starless sky through the windshield as I sighed, feeling more than a bit lost and defeated.

If only I knew what that foreign sensation that was slowly making its way into my chest meant...


	14. Chapter 14

Hey there!

So... Are you guys ready for the non-date? ;)

Hold tight, it's another crazy long chapter :D

Oh, I also have a message for Lizz since I couldn't send you one as PM I decided to answer here to your question :) I'm not english but the "Jesus Christ on a bike" seems to be an exclamation like OMG, I just added the *drunk* part because I thought it was funny especially coming from Nicky, so yeah... Very glad you enjoyed it :D Thank you for your reviews and thanks to all the others too for all your kind words :)

Now, here we go with the chapter...

Enjoy

* * *

After I reassured the concerned driver that I was feeling okay and that I needed just some air before reaching the building where the exhibition was taking place, I managed to convince her to drop me a block away from it, it wasn't much but I hoped that the cool night air and the noise of the city would have been enough to distract me from the growing nervousness that was succeeding in making me lose the last drop of self control I had left.

Useless to say that taking a few steps and hearing the sounds of the distant traffic didn't help me as I had hoped it would.

How could such idea have worked when that sense of anxiety and anticipation had settled in my stomach since the previous day, since I heard that deep, slightly husky voice on the phone.

I registered the blow of the wind in my face that made me close my eyes for just a second, but I didn't hear its whisper in my ear, I didn't feel my body shivering for the cold, and when I tightened the coat around me it was a subconscious gesture.

The click clack of my high heels on the sidewalk was the only sound I could hear clearly, along with the ones of my increasing heartbeats.

I didn't raise my gaze to look at the front of the buldings or to even notice how nice and quite this part of the city was, and I didn't pay attention to the other few people that were walking on the sidewalk with me, just like I tried to not pay too much attention to the same questions that kept floating in my mind. The fact that I didn't have an answer for them didn't make me immune to examine the possibilities as I wondered, above everything else, how could someone have such an irresistible and magnetic power over my thoughts, especially someone that I had pratically just met.

But once again, the answer wasn't in my head.

It was in my shaking hands, but not for the cold.

In my unsteady steps because of my suddenly weak wobbly knees, but not because of the high heels I was wearing.

But most of all, the part that worried me more than all the others, were the signs that couldn't have been detected from the outside.

The ones that had the most devastating effect of me... A devastating, undeniable, delightful effect.

The wind blew again, bringing a slightly warmer wave of air that caressed my face more gently than the previous one, just barely brushing my cheeks as if it was inviting me to raise my gaze from the gray cement of the sidewalk where my eyes were fixed without looking as I kept walking.

But it wasn't the touch of the wind that made me almost snap my head up, but the scent that it brought along with it.

My eyes fluttered shut for the briefest moment, but long enough for my mind to send flashes of images of when and where I had smelled that fragrance.

I knew the answer before the first memory appeared, before my eyes could flutter completely open and before my heart could restart to beat again.

The small silent gasp that left my lips went lost in the air along with any other thoughts that just a few moments before were driving me crazy, when my eyes landed on her, standing a few feet away from me, and looking more beautiful than what I could bear to not feel myself falter.

And when she raised her gaze, as if she knew, just like any ever vigilant predator was aware of, that someone was watching her, it was the final blow that knocked all the air from my lungs and left me hopeless under the powerful effect that those two bright green gems were having on me with just a first glance.

I watched transfixed as her lips parted slightly to take in a small sip of air and how her expression matched my own of stupor and awe for a few almost imperceptible moments before she took the last couple of steps that were separating us, and then a big, wide smile appeared on her gorgeous face, showing her perfect white teeth and the brightest light into her eyes.

"Hey..."

It came out a little breathless from her, despite the new confidence that was showing with her broad smile, but it was something that made me feel strangely comfortable and that also made my chest swell with an unexpected surge of pride, knowing that under that smile, before it came out, even she had shown a hint of stupor when she had laid eyes on me.

"Hi..." I greeted her matching her own gentle tone, feeling a small grin forming on my lips as she looked at me, and then a soft blush warming my cheeks when I noticed her scanning her eyes up and down my body, seeing just a hint of my dress under my open coat before her eyes lingered a second longer on my exposed legs.

My smile only became bigger when her gaze returned to me and I saw, the appreciative look on her face, noticing also how her expressive green eyes had darkened into a few shades behind the black rimmed glasses. The sight was enough to send a warm shiver down my spine, but when she spoke, and that unmistakable look of appreciation was replaced by a softer one; her voice was gentle, yet tentative, but incredibly sincere when she surprised me by saying "You look... beautiful, Piper."

The way she looked at me, pausing a bit longer to look at my slightly parted lips as she swallowed before saying beautiful and hearing how my name left from those perfect, inviting red lips, was more than what I could bear.

The furious blush spread down my neck and I had to divert my gaze from hers for a moment when I saw a new smalled, but always amused smirk tugging at her lips.

"Thank you." I managed to reply to her compliment when I felt that my breathing was once again under control. My eyes returned to her and the words slipped from my lips before I could think twice about it and before the courage would have left me. "You look very nice too, Alex."

 _Very nice_ was an enormous understatement, but the bright smile that she gave me back told me she accepted it more than willingly and was worth a thousand times the blush that I could feel reaching the tip of my ears.

The make up she had chosen, the red lipstick, the black eyeliner that made her eyes look even more luminous and expressive, the different but simple hairstyle that made her soft locks just a hint wavy, landing gracefully over her shoulders and, when I looked down and noticed her lace up combat boots, I grinned, and all I could think of, was that she looked like an incredibly sexy rockstar, always mantaining that veiled hint of mystery that made her look so uniquely attractive to me.

Trying to keep my curiosity under control was hard when I started wondering what kind of dress she was wearing under her black coat, and most of all, despite how much I tried to push those inappropriate thoughts aside, wondering how much exposed skin I would have seen.

"Thanks...So, ready to go in?" She asked with a smile, lifting one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows and tilting her head towards the stone staircase that lead into the building a few steps away, offering her forearm to me in a very unexpected gesture that I couldn't help but find chivalrous.

I didn't answer verbally, just kept my gaze fixed with hers as I placed my hand on her forearm before she lead me towards the entrance of the building.

It was like, for the entire moment, since I had first laid eyes on her and then until I started walking once again, the surrounding, the sound of the steps of the other few people that kept walking beside us on the sidewalk and the noise of the traffic in the distance, had dissolved into nothing, but it wasn't something that should have surprised me so much...

Not since just a few days previous I noticed how her presence, her looks and the attention that she had showed to me, had managed to make me feel like I was the only person in that enormous hall at the museum. Just me, her, and two quitals of marble shaped into the form of an Amazon.

There was a man at the front door, whom stopped the persons who were entering to ask their names and compare them to a list that he was holding. To say that I was surprised when we reached the top of the stairs and he didn't ask our names but just smiled politely at us and opened the door saying "Good evening, ladies." would have been the understatement of the year, and when I saw Alex turning her head towards me only to throw at me a small innocent wink, I knew which was the answer for such a special treatment.

Despite the classical front of the building the inside of the structure was actually very modern.

So much space. Parquet floor with geometric design. And an high decorated ceiling.

It seemed to have two floors, noticing the wood stairs that lead on an upper floor on the distant corner of the main room, but the space was incredibly vast, and the room at the ground foor just opened in front of me as we entered, as if it was its official welcome.

The illumination was soft on the ceiling, with the special lights concentrated on the paintings on the walls.

I didn't even admire a single painting yet and I was already rendered speechlees by the location.

"Alex, this is beautiful..." I said amazed, barely registering that she was taking off my coat.

She chuckled softly when she heard the awe filling my voice. "This place was an abandoned art studio just a couple of years ago, but the best part after the reconsctruction is the upper floor..."

Her voice trailed off and it was enough to distract me from my scrutiny of the room to shift my gaze towards her.

She had taken a small step back and was looking at me with such an intense gaze that made me feel a sudden rush of warmth run through my body.

My cheeks became as red as my one shoulder cocktail dress as she examined every inch of my body, her eyes lingering a moment longer on the part that didn't have the strap and that left the area completely exposed.

Her eyes darkened, in that compelling way I had seen them darkening so many times and changing with so many different shades, in just the two times that I had seen her for _work_ , and the effect it had on me was the opposite to immune.

"I think I need to rephrase what I said before when we were outside..." She paused and took a step closer to me, licking her lips before she leaned in and whispered mere inches from the side of my mouth. "You look stunning, kid."

Her warm breath caressed my cheek and my eyes flyuttered closed. Time seemed to stop as did the sounds in the room, to chatting of people to the music playing softly in the background. I almost expected, and secretly hoped, to feel those lips pressed against mine in a small gentle kiss, but to my immense disappointment, she pulled back.

"Would you like something to drink?" I had to blink a few times to clean my vision and to realize where we were when I heard her addressing to me, noticing the small, more innocent smirk on those full inviting red lips.

When I finally recovered, I considered her question for a moment longer, remembering that she had always offered me something to drink when I was at her place, and also remembering what she said to me about not being much of a drinker, and so I answered. "Yes please, whatever you take."

She furrowed her eyebrow in mild confusion but the smile never left her face. "It'll probably be something analcolic." She warned me lifting her eyebrows playfully.

"I know..." I answered knowingly, never diverting my gaze from hers and feeling a big smile already forming on my lips when I noticed how taken aback she seemed by my reply.

But she continued anyway. "You sure? There is an open bar," She said gesturing towards the small bar on the corner of the main room where a few other guests had gathered to drink and talk. "They have everything you want. Champagne, wine..."

"I'm sure..." I said convinced.

It was something so simple, yet the pleasantly surprised look that she gave me back was what widened my smile until I felt my cheeks hurt.

She knew it wasn't exactly about the drinks... But more about wanting to _share_ this aspect of her, even if it seemed irrelevant.

"Alright," Here she diverted her gaze from mine, fiddling a little with her glasses before looking at my coat that she was holding around her forearm, and I had to bite on my lips to not let out a small chuckle. It was incredibly amusing see her acting a bit nervous.

"I'll take care of this," Her eyes then returned to me as did the confidence in her voice, but a little less into her bright smiling eyes. "Why don't you go and take a look around in the meantime?"

"Okay." I said with a nod and feeling new surge of excitement about the exhibition.

"I'll find you in a few minutes." She assured me with a soft smile before she turned and walked towards the other side of the room, unable to resist the urge to look down at her long, toned, creamy legs peeking out from underneath her coat, diverting my gaze only when a few people passed beside me and distracted my scrutiny with their loud chat.

The private exhibition was about Impressionism and Post Impressionism, two of my favourite periods, and the variation of the artists, that I noticed after just a first look around the main room, was incredibly vast. From most famous like Manet and Monet, to the urban landscapes of Pissarro, to the exercising dancers of Degas until the bright colorful representations of Cézanne and to the few macabre paintings of Sickert.

I could also tell that the elite of New York was present, where a few seemed more interested in discussing politics or business than actually enjoy the exhibition or talk about art. Luckily there were also the ones whom were interested and whom were friendly enough to greet me with a polite nod and a smile, feeling more than happy to return them.

I was so excited that I didn't know where to start, but I decided it would have been better to follow the path chosen by whom had set the exposition, which was also the chronological one.

I admired the tecnique and the incredible skill of Manet in showing the brightness of the light like golden rays, the accuracy that Pissarro could represent even with thin and small brush strokes, still being able to capture perfectly the smaller and more distant details.

"You didn't waste time, kid." That deep, slightly amused voice that was becoming more and more familiar and which effect on me could only have been described as addictive, startled me a bit and made me turn to look at Alex's smirking face.

"Here." She said handing me one of the two glasses filled with an half orange and half red liquid. "Passionfruit and strawberry. Alcohol free."

I thanked her trying to not show too much surprise, and wondering if it was just a coincidence that she had chosen two of my favourite fruits combined together.

She winked at me and brought her own glass to her lips. I repeated the movement without even realizing it, tasting the drink on my lips and once the flavor spread on my tongue, I couldn't suppress a moan.

The sweetness was just the one of the fruit and the light spakling sensation made it even more refreshing. But my reaction, made the raven haired woman at my side look even more amused.

"It seems that I've chosen something good..."

I blushed a little, but I still managed to answer her. "It's delicious, Alex... Thank you."

"You're welcome." She took another small sip before her attention turned to the painting in front of us, taking a small step back to have a better look.

My heart jumped forcefully against my ribcage and for a moment I was afraid that I wouldn't have been able to remain standing in my high heels as soon as I noticed that she had taken off her coat and was now standing beside me with a clinging black dress.

My eyes widened slightly and even if my mouth fell open, it seemed that my lungs were unable to receive even the smallest sip of air.

"Renoir?" She asked as she examined the Venetian landscape.

I had to swallow several times, really hard, to try to bring some moisture in my suddenly dry throat before I could offer an answer. "Y-yeah, I was just admiring his technique, and this work is just..." My eyes never left her body as I talked, noticing how the sexy black dress left exposed her long legs and how amazingly it hugged her delicious curves.

I saw her turning her head to look at me, still waiting for me to finish my sentence, and then our eyes met.

"...so beautiful."

The words left my lips before I could consider what I was saying.

The look she gave me back, the bright smile, the soft almost imperceptible blush that had me wonder if it was real or if it was the illumination of the room, were what made my heart start beating once again, much faster and louder than before.

She knew that I wasn't talking about the painting anymore.

And I was glad that for the first couple of minutes I had occasion to see at least a few of the exposed works, because from that moment, with just a few exceptions, my eyes remained fixed on her for the rest of the evening.

 **. . .**

I didn't need words.

The appreciation was more than evident on her face and in the way she looked at me.

In the way her eyes widened and darkened in that deeper shade of blue that I had seen several times during our previous encounters, but that this time held something different. Something that I couldn't quite place, but that I knew was holding more than just appreciation and simple desire.

Whatever it was, seemed enough to start once again the storm of contrasting sensations that I managed to keep under control inside of me, and since I had no intention to become an hostage under their effect, no matter how intense they were, I decided that a conversation with my guest would have been what I needed to distract me, and luckily, she seemed to have the same idea.

"So..." She cleared her throat softly. "You mentioned that you've been here before?" She asked tentatively as she started to recover from her moment of stupor, and I remembered what I was saying to her when we first entered in the building.

"Yeah, last year." I nodded in consent. "They had arranged this exhibition of ancient sculptures." Then I chuckled when I remembered what had happened in that occasion, succeeding in capturing the attention of my guest with a curious look and a smile on her face that encouraged me to continue.

"That time I asked to my friend, Nicky, if she wanted to come with me," I started, and she turned to face me completely as I recalled the last time that I had invited Nicky to partecipate in something that involved art. "And, let's just say that art _isn't_ exactly her favorite topic, and since I knew that fact too, half of the blame is on me for what happened..."

"Should I worry?" She asked with a hint of humour and a new smile already forming on her lips as if she knew that it was going to be something funny.

I took a sip of my drink before shaking my head. "I wouldn't say _worry_ , no. But she got pretty bored during the evening and ended up drinking... a bit too much of what she was used to,"

I paused long enough to enjoy the beginning of an amused chuckle as she chewed the tip of the straw in her glass before I continued. "Anyway, the only thing I know, is that a minute before she was at my side, slurring something that after a while was actually taking a philosophical turn, and the next one she was flirting with the copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos."

As soon as I finished, the amused chuckle turned into a loud laugh full of mirth.

The sound of that authentic laugh reached my ears and settled immediately into my chest with a comforting sense of warmth that had me smile broadly.

It was such a beautiful sound, and her face, and the light in her eyes before they fluttered shut, reflected exactly how sincere her reaction was.

"Was she successful in her attempt to seduce her?" She asked through another round of chuckles, this time making me laugh out loud.

"I think that if it wasn't for me pulling her away, she would have charmed her... She can be _very_ persuasive." I answered as soon as I recovered.

I watched her wiping away a small tear from the corner of her eye before she said "I think your friend Nicky enjoys art more than what she wants to admit. She just needed some liquid courage to realize it." She gave another one of those breathtaking smiles and this time, it brought the same fluttering feeling in my stomach that had kept me company when I was driving.

"Maybe," I said trying to ignore the sensation and the fact that was spreading further up.

"But I've never took a chance to invite her to another exhibition ever again."

The little embarassing tale had helped in lighten the mood and the conversation flowed easily between us after that moment with no awkwardness or embarassing silences as she moved from one painting towards the next in what had become a very crowded room in just a few minutes, that had the both of us standing more close to each other and that had me gently place my hand on the small of her back more than once.

 _It's to guide her through the crowd._ I said to myself. _Not to keep her closer to me._

An excuse that lasted just for the first three times, because when I noticed that also she was doing everything to stay just a little closer to me, that lame excuse was pushed out of my mind and I just started to enjoy the closeness that I couldn't deny was having a very pleasant and _comforting_ effect on me.

During the evening she had explained to me in great details the characteristics of Impressionism, from where it started and in what period, which one were the influences that had inspired it, and how the artists had redescovered the landscapes, where the interest wasn't much on the draw but it was pointed towards the color.

She explained me about how the artists of this movement preferred plain air painting and how some of them had seen in the invention of the camera a tool to create their own paintings retracing the image of the picture, the outlines and the basic structure, before they released their creativity to alter the same landscape as they pleased with the addition of new elements and changing the original colors.

She was so incredibly smart.

So incredibly passionate and curious about what she saw that it was impossible to not find it a fascinating attractive trait.

"How are your studies going?" I asked after a while when we reached the second floor, hoping that my question wasn't too personal, not wanting to intrude too much, but feeling also curious to know more about her.

The fact that she beamed at me brighter than the sun was a good enough answer for me that she was more than comfortable about this topic and I released a inner sigh of relief.

"They are going fine... Actually," She paused looking down at her hands and biting softly on her bottom lip as if she was considering to or not to say something, before she finally raised her head and continued. "I've just given my last exam."

She seemed pretty excited about it, and I could just show a true interest. "Congratulation kid..." I smiled sincerely at her and she smiled back at me with a new soft blush coloring her cheeks.

"Thanks..."

The upper floor was much smalled than what I remembered, it felt more cozy, and it was also much less crowded, something that I didn't know if it should have pleased me or not, since I was enjoying having the young art student so close to me... More than what I wanted to admit to myself.

She stopped in front of a sea landscape.

"Do you like it?" I asked when I noticed that she remained quiet for some time in front of the painting.

She turned her head towards me when she heard my voice and smiled, but this time it wasn't full. It held a hint of melancholy and... sadness.

It had me immediately worried. But before I could ask if everything was okay, she spoke, her gaze fixed on the painting once again.

"It's so luminous..." She said shaking her head before sighing quietly. "There are so few ripples in the water and no clouds in the sky that the sunset just seems to melt with the sea."

I took a step closer and looked at the bright colors, at the last golden rays of the sun penetrating the surface of the water, and for a brief moment, I felt some of the melancholy that I had seen in her face a minute previous.

"Sorry," She apologized after a moment and her real smile started to return, slowly. "I just can't remember the last time I've seen a sunset on the sea..."

I smiled at her. "No need to apologize... Some artists can really express sentiments through their works, and this one is very realistic." But despite my answer and the big smile that I received back from her, for a few moments, I couldn't help but wonder if it was that thought that had her looking sad all of a sudden...

The air was a bit more chilly by the time that the exhibition was over and we were exiting, being welcomed by the much calmer and incredibly much silent night. And, luckily, it took me just a bit of persuasion to convince her that it was more than okay to accompany her back at home when I offered to do it, which was the other reason because I wanted to go with my own car; so that we could have remained for as long as she wanted without worrying about the hour for the driver to pick her up.

I wanted her to enjoy the evening and the soft shy smile that she gave me when she accepted my offer the second time, along with the same light shining into the those deep blue pools, told me that maybe, I wasn't the only one who felt more than a bit reluctant at the idea to end such a nice evening.

The drive was silent except for the soft music coming from the stereo, and I could feel every single one of those sensations, that I managed to keep pretty easily under control during the night, starting to resurface once again.

Her close proximity and the delicate scent of her perfume that filled the car mixed with the one of the leather made me grip the steering wheel a little harder as I tried to control my breathing and slow down the forceful beats of my heart.

But my efforts weren't enough, not when I noticed her looking at me and then diverting her gaze from my profile when I turned my head to look briefly at her and catch her a little too late, but just in time to see the beginning of a new blush spreading on her cheeks.

"Here we are..." We arrived too soon, the streets were strangely desolated and silent; the exact opposite than what I felt running inside me as I stopped the car in front of her apartment building and exited just to open her door, offering my hand to help her out; not the first chivalrous gesture of the night that earned me another one of those shy smiles in return.

"Thank you Alex," She said sincerely when we reached the front door of the building.

"For the ride and for your invitation to the exhibition."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "You're very welcome, kid." I answered as I looked right into her eyes, captivated by the light that I saw in there and that increased the intensity of the sensations that I was feeling inside of me, that made my voice slightly huskier and a few tones deeper.

"It's been a very beautiful night..." She continued taking a small, almost imperceptible step closer towards me.

And I found myself shifting slightly forward too.

The night had been incredibly pleasant for me. More than just pleasant actually.

Her presence, the way the conversation flowed easily between us during the night with no sign of embarassment or awkwardness, felt just so right and natural.

For an entire evening no dark thoughts had crossed my mind, and I knew it wasn't a coincidence that those thoughts happened to be a thousand of miles away when she was around.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it..." Without my consent, my hand came up to tuck a golden strand of hair behind her ear and I watched how her eyes fluttered shut and feeling how she leaned against my touch.

She was just so beautiful that I couldn't resist.

My heart started beating faster and when her eyes fluttered open once again, I noticed the new light that had appeared into them, but it wasn't something that I had seen before into them.

It wasn't just pure desire, or lust, or even arousal.

But it was a look that attracted me just like those other did, maybe more, and when she shifted her gaze to look briefly at my mouth as she bit down on her bottom lip, I knew exactly what she was thinking about.

I had seen her doing that same thing only a few nights previous...

It was the same thought that I was trying to push aside knowing that maybe it wasn't something I should be doing, but unable to stop thinking about how good it felt just kissing her, remembering the pleasure I received from such a simple contact, only this time, it wasn't just about receiving pleasure.

There was something more.

Something that had tried to push forward for the entire evening, after every new smile that appeared on her face, every laugh escaping from her lips, every shy look she threw at me.

I cupped her cheek in my hand and I gently traced her bottom lip with my thumb, slowly, feeling her warm shallow breaths caressing my skin.

We were so close that only a few inches were separating us and even if every cell of my body, every drop of blood in my veins and every molecule of oxigen in my lungs was telling me to lean in and press my lips to hers...

 _I didn't do it._

"Alex?" She whispered softly against my lips.

"Yes?"

 _She did._

It was so soft and tentative that for the first few seconds I thought I was just imagining it, I thought I was just dreaming it, but after a few moments, we started moving together in a gentle dance. And even with its softness, it was one of the most intenses kisses I had ever received.

My other hand came up to cup her face and our lips parted in the same moment to deepen the kiss.

I didn't kiss her first because I wanted her to choose.

Because I wanted her to have the power to decide what to do.

I was no longer guided by my thirst of control or by the other wild, primal force that lived inside me; I wouldn't have been able to resist if I was under their effects, and I couldn't permit to that part of me to ruin that moment.

This wasn't about a physical need.

It was something deeper.

Something that had been hidden in place inside of me for so long that had sunk into a cold, icy abyss, deluding myself that all I needed to feel was the warmth of my body to have the illusion that I was still alive.

But I was wrong.

My hands and my soul where stained with the blood of hundreds of lives because of what I had chosen to do. It didn't matter that they deserved what I did to them.

Death and loss had drained a great part of the human in me, and rended me an empty shell, no different from a cold blooded animal long before I started doing this job.

It wasn't the warmth of my body, or the feeling of another one pressed against mine that would have ever made me believe that I wasn't any different.

...It was the one I felt spreading inside me in that moment.

Reluctantly, we pulled away, no longer able to resist the need of air, but still remaining close, breathing each other essence as we rested our foreheads together.

"What are we doing, Alex?" She whispered breathlessly against my lips, not sounding confused or showing a hint of regret, holding her hands on my waist to bring me a little closer as she softly nuzzled her nose against the side of mine for a brief moment.

How I wished I had an answer to that question, but all I had were a storm of sensations that had woke up some parts of me that were long forgotten.

"I don't know..." I answered at last, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes, feeling as my heart skipped a beat when I saw the intensity of the emotions flashing into them.

But just because I didn't know, it didn't mean that I didn't have every intention to figure out what was happening between us.

Because I knew she felt it too.

I had just seen it.

I took in a small sip of air before I pulled back a little more, hoping that what I was going to ask her, even if the controlled part of me was already telling me that it wasn't a good idea, would have earned me the answer I was hoping for.

"Take the day off tomorrow and come away with me, Piper."

I watched as her eyes widened but she didn't show any sign of reluctance when after a few long moments she asked "Where?"

I shook my head as I traced her cheek with my fingertips. "Doesn't matter... I just," My voice betrayed me a little and I diverted my gaze for a second, thinking about what to say butrecovering quickly when the words came to me. "...want to know more about you."

She had no reason to accept, I knew that.

We barely knew each other. That is why, if she was going to turn me down, I wasn't going to insist, but I knew I would have regretted it if I wouldn't have at least tried to ask.

And even if I was hoping that she would have accepted, I wasn't expecting to see that new light shining in her endless blue eyes or the penetrating look that she gave me right before she surprised me by capturing my lips with hers in a much longer, much tender kiss.

Once again, words weren't needed.

And I could only smile into that kiss when I felt her body melting against mine.


	15. Chapter 15

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the short delay, I've been kind of busy these past few days but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you guys! I'm so glad you enjoyed the non-date :D Thank you so very much for all your flattering reviews :)

Here's the new chapter for you :)

Enjoy

* * *

Sleep didn't claim me that night, not until the first weak blue lights of the morning appeared at least, and when I finally gave in under the weight of my heavy eyelids, I only dreamed about her.

I dreamed about how her soft jet black hair felt as I ran my fingers through it to bring her closer, how her hands felt on me when she gripped my waist, holding me possessively yet gently , but most of all, I dreamed in vivid details how her lips moved so perfectly with mine.

Pulling away from that kiss was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but the fact that she was there, holding me, compensated some of that loss.

I didn't want things to escalate, and this time, as incredible as it must sounds, it wasn't Alex whom was showing the eagerness and lust that I had seen and felt emanating from her as it did during our previous encounters. It was _me_ the one whom was having some problems controlling the growing arousal.

When I woke up just a few hours after I fell asleep, I felt incredibly lonely in my bed as the only thing that kept me company and that I first registered before my eyes could flutter open and welcome the bright, warm rays of the sun that were streaming through the bedroom window, was the insistent throb between my legs.

I tried to ignore it, pressing my legs together as I stretched before I jumped out of the bed to not give into temptation, feeling a small smile already forming on my lips and a sense of anticipation settling in my stomach.

Despite the reduced hours of sleep, I woke up feeling incredibly rested, energized and excited as I wondered what Alex had in mind for the day.

Part of me still couldn't believe that I accepted her offer, but the other one, the one guided by my emotions and by all the sensations that I felt whenever I found myself thinking about her, knew that I could have never turned down such request.

The way she asked it to me without a direct question, the tone she used, the look she gave me...

It was just irresistible.

The fluttering feeling started in my stomach once again and spread further down, increasing the throb between my legs when other few, less innoncent moments I had shared with the raven haired woman a few nights previous flashed in my mind.

I had to take a very long, very cold shower in order to get rid of that sensation; I could have taken the matter into my own hands and get the release I needed so much, but I decided against it.

Resist wasn't easy. Especially when I remembered the way she pleasured me last time, feeling her body on top of mine, her warmth surrounding me, her lips claiming mine so in a passionate kiss as she kept pumping her long fingers inside me, brining me a pleasure that I had never experienced before.

And the fact that I didn't take care of that pulsing need that morning, was because I knew, that my touch wouldn't have been enough to satisfy me.

It would have just made me crave for hers more.

Before I knew it, I was already dressed and ready to go. Alex didn't tell me what she wanted to do that day, so I decided to wear just a pair of nice but comfortable jeans and a light blue sweater that reached the top of my thighs. Casual enough, but not too casual.

I grabbed my parka and my shoulder bag, before I exited and locked the door of my small apartment behind me.

Alex said that she would have picked me up around 10 am, but I couldn't sit and wait in my apartment, the sense of energy I felt didn't permit me to and I didn't want to do it even if it was just a matter of few minutes, so I descended the three flights of stairs and exited the building.

But I didn't go far.

Because as soon as the front door of the building swung open and I raised my gaze, my attention was immediately caught by something.

I don't know why that sight seemed so interesting to me to catch my attention with such an incredibly magnetic effect, but I knew that I felt such powerful sensation with only one person lately.

It could have been anyone...

There was no reason for me to suspect of someone in particular.

But when I saw the black honda bike parking on the side of the street near the sidewalk, only a few steps in front of me, I already knew whom that person was. And when I saw them opening the dark visor of the helmet to remove a pair of black rimmed glasses, I didn't have any more doubts.

For the second time in two days I remained transfixed as I watched her taking off her helmet, freeing her long black hair that landed gracefully over the motorcycle jacket she was wearing.

She was all leather.

A professional and certaily expensive looking equipment which effect on her body was nothing less than breathtaking and mouth watering.

I had to swallow several times, feeling the blood rushing into my ears as my heart jumped furiously against my ribcage when I saw her dismounting from her motorbike with the same gracefulness of a knight dismounting from his destrier.

And since she didn't seem to have noticed me yet, I couldn't resist but admire her for a little longer, noticing how nicely her black leather pants showed even more the perfectly defined muscles on those powerful legs, and the delicious swell of her incredibly toned ass.

I had to pull my bottom lip into my mouth and bit down when I felt a moan threatening to leave my slightly parted lips.

Didn't matter what she decided to wear, in any case her beauty was beyond earthly confines.

Just the previous night I had seen her in a tight black dress, but even like this, wearing the protective motorcycle apparel, she still managed to look feminine, showing that confidence that I always found myself attracted to and also looking... Incredibly sexy.

Without diverting my gaze I closed the front door of the bulding behind me, and even if the sound was soft in the quiet street, it was enough to capture the attention of the raven haired woman standing just a few steps in front of me and whom had just placed her trademark glasses back on.

A wide grin appeared on her face as soon as she saw me and I descended the last two steps of the stone staricase, feeling a smile of my own already tugging at my lips.

"Morning sweetness... Need a ride?" Was the first thing she said to me accompanied with a playful arched eyebrow as soon as I reached her.

I bit the inside of my cheek from keep my big smile from becoming a smirk as I considered what to say.

"Well, that depends where we are going..." I teased her a little. unable to resist the temptation and enjoying very much the small look of amused surprise that she showed as she lifted both her perfectly sculpted eyebrows before she asked "Do you have a preferred destination where you would like to go, Miss?"

I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Good," She said as her grin turned into that same irresistible smirk, watching how her eyes changed into a brighter shade of green behind her glasses. "Because I kinda have something in mind..."

Just saying that, she had me incredibly curious, and I knew she could tell the same only by looking at the way my eyes had widened slightly.

"What is it?" I asked with the same curiosity of a little kid as she pulled something out from the pocket of her black and red jacket.

"Uh uh, it's a surprise." She winked me as she handed me a pair of protective bike gloves and reached for a full face helmet that was hooked on the rearview mirror of the motorbike.

"These are Nicky's, but I think they'll fit you nice too." She said with a new smaller smirk.

"Thank you," I smiled timidly at her before I asked, not being able to suppress my curiosity so easily and barely resisting the urge to jump on my feet. "Is it distant?"

She laughed softly and I knew she had noticed the way my eyes kept widening with a sense of anticipation and eagerness.

"It might take an hour or so," She explained with a nod. "But that's why I decided to come with the bike, it'll take less time and," She looked up at the sky for a moment before her eyes returned to me once again. "It's also a very beautiful day for a ride."

She was right. The weather had been excellent for a few days, and that morning seemed to be even warmer respect the previous ones.

And even if the idea to take a ride towards an unknown destination with Alex had me incredibly excited, I found myself biting on my bottom lip as I considered to express my concern to her.

"I-I've never been on a motorcycle before." It came out soft and insecure as I fiddled with the strap of the helmet in my hands, but strangely enough, all that I needed to hear to feel my worry starting to dissipate, was her humored, slightly husky laugh.

"Don't worry kid," She reassurred me before getting on the bike, starting it and then pulling up the kickstand before she continued. "I won't go fast... I promise." The soft smile that she gave me after saying that, melt something inside me. "You just relax and enjoy the view. If your legs start feeling a bit numb for the position, just tap on my back and'll stop as soon as I can... Okay?"

The bike roared to life and with a final convinced smile and a soft "Okay." I put on the gloves she gave me and then the helmet, remaining pleasantly surprised that, as she had suspected, the size was perfect.

I tightened the straps of my bag so that it could have rested more still like a backpack shoulder and then I got right behind her, seeing her scoot a little forward to give me more space and pulling out the supports for my feet at the sides.

Before she put her own helmet on she turned as much as she could in her seat to look at me, taking me by surprise when I felt her grabbing my hand, gently, and bringing it around her waist. "Hold onto me kid." The wink she gave me before she turned and put her own helmet on, made my heart skip a beat.

It was so different from all the other ones she had given to me before.

So comforting and reassuring.

So... tender.

I heard the click as she shifted into first gear with the pedal and I brought my other arm around her waist, shifting to stay just a bit closer to her, embracing her like that for all the ride, enjoying even this simple kind of closeness more than what I thought possible as we left the city behind us and headed towards a mysterious destination.

But even if I didn't know where the road ahead of us lead, it didn't take long before I noticed the first visible signs and hints about the possible location where Alex was bringing me.

I felt as my heart started beating forcefully in my throat and the sound echoing in my ears above the one of the wind and of the engine of the bike.

A new sensation started growing into my chest for the woman that I was embracing from behind, tightening my hold just a little around her in a sudden need to feel her just a bit closer as a big smile formed on my lips.

The distinctive scent that I thought I had forgotten, filled my nostrils even from under the helmet when Alex sped up a bit. My eyes fluttered shut and I enjoyed that new mix of compelling sensation that started running inside me, and when they fluttered open once again, I looked at my side towards the small port.

Towards the sea.

I knew it wasn't a coincidence...

 _She could have brought me anywhere._ I thought to myself. _Yet she has decided to bring me here..._

And when she stopped, parking in a reserved area beside many other bikes, the first thing that I noticed after she dismounted and pulled off her helmet, was the soft, tentative smile that she gave me and that was enough to confirm what I already knew.

My heart fluttered as I looked into those expressive bright green eyes that for the first time, as surprising as it was for me to see it, held just a hint of insecurity.

But that insecurity didn't last long, and was immediately wiped away and replaced by a relieved expression that she tried to cover under the same playful smirk, briefly diverting her gaze from mine, when she saw the full sincere smile on my face as I replayed the short conversation I had with her in front of a particular painting the previous night.

No... It wasn't a coincidence.

 **. . .**

I knew where I wanted to bring her since the previous night when I was returning at home after the incredible evening spent with the shy, smart, young art student, but I wasn't so sure about it, not until I saw that beautiful dimpled smile on her face that filled me with a surprising sense of relief, and only in that moment realizing how much I hoped that she would like where I decided to bring her.

As much as I hoped she would enjoy the day with me.

"So... This is the place?" She asked looking around the small port on the coast and at the horizon where a few sailing boats were visible.

I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck before I answered with nonchalance trying to not show the humour in my voice. "Yeah, I thought it was a beautiful day for a bath..."

The way her eyes widened and her lips parted with shock was almost enough to make my intention to sound serious crumble, until I was unable to suppress the deep chuckle that was already forming in my throat when she asked "A- a bath?" sounding more than a bit worried.

"Don't worry Piper," I said as soon as I recovered, seeing as the realization that I was just kidding sunk into her as she closed her eyes and shook her head with an amused but also relieved smile on her face before I continued, with a new softer smile on my own lips.

"This is not the reason because I brought you here."

She blushed a little and the sight was enough to start a new round of that same fluttering sensation that started in my stomach and spread further into a warm pleasant tingling into my chest that was becoming quite familiar.

"I have something else in mind..." I said as I took the helmet from her hands and secured it with mine on the hook under the seat of the bike, seeing as her head snapped up and that same curious smile that I had seen before appeared, making her eyes shine with anticipation and eagerness.

"What is it?" She asked as I started to lead her towards the wood pier where few boats where docked and other people were getting ready to sail, taking advantage of the beautiful day.

"Well..." I said slowing down until I stopped, looking at her beside me before I tilted my head shifting my gaze towards my sailing boat, hoping that she would have liked the other part of the plan for the day.

The bright smile she gave me back as soon as she realized what I was proposing was enough to show exactly how excited she was at the idea.

I was the first to get aboard after I untied the rope around the pillar of the dock.

"Have I mentioned that I've never been on a sailing boat before either?" She asked looking up at me from the pier with her hand shielding the intense rays of the sun that were hitting her face as she squinted her eyes a bit.

"You just did." I replied with a wide smirk, lifting my eyebrows, something that earned me a playful glare from the blonde.

"Seriously though," I said after fixing the last few things and reaching the edge of the side of the boat to face her down on the pier. "If you want to do something else it's okay Piper, we don't have to do... _This._ " I concluded gesturing to the boat and to the horizon, wanting her to know that if she wasn't feeling like doing so it was alright, giving her a way out if she had changed idea or was having second thoughts about all of this.

But that didn't stop me from kneeling a bit and offer her my hand to help her get aboard, as it didn't stop the big smile from forming on my lips when all she did was taking my hand without diverting her gaze from mine before I gently pulled her up.

Maybe it was because she pushed too hard or maybe it was because I pulled her a bit more forcefully than what I meant to do, all I knew, was that in a blink we were on the deck standing in front of each other with no distance between us.

A soft gasp left her lips, caressing my cheeks in a light whisper as I felt her body pressed against mine, slowly melting against my front just like I felt her the night before, causing my heart to pound faster and so harder that I was afraid she could feel it against her own chest under the different layers of clothes we were wearing.

Her scent filled my nostrils mixed with the salty one of the air, her eyes a perfect clear shade of blue as they looked so deeply into mine, as if she was searching for something.

Maybe the same thing that I was looking for into hers...

The matching sensations that I felt released inside me whenever she was around.

The answers to the questions that I hadn't been able to find on my own and that kept persisting into my head despite how much I tried to push them away.

Whatever it was, I had every intention to keep searching, smiling broadly at the thought that she had accepted to spend the day with me.

"Welcome aboard kid." I whispered as soon as I regained some of the control that had slipped from me as I tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, tracing the outline of her jaw with my thumb and enjoying the way her cheeks warmed with a soft shade of pink as she smiled timidly yet fully at me.

The day was just perfect, the water was calm and clear, the air light and the wind just a gentle blow, powerful enough to send the boat into the sea but not so harsh to feel actual cold thanks to the sun that was shining from a cloudless blue sky and warmed us with its bright rays; feeling glad for the out of season wave of heat of the last few days brought from the south. But the part that I liked the most was to see how Piper seemed to enjoy the moment.

"So," I said capturing the attention of the blonde young woman as I started to stop the boat letting the sail out until it came to an halt, distant enough from the few others that were venturing at the horizon and at the same time remaining close enough to the port that we left behind us. "Last night you told me you have finished your exams..."

"Yes," She nodded with a satisfied smile. "I did, now I'll have the time to focus on my thesis."

"I take it you have already started to work on it then?" I asked as I took a seat on the white couch on the deck, next to her but not too close, turning in my position to face her as she did the same sitting on one leg.

"I'm working on two actually, but I think I've already decided which one I'll present."

I knew she was smart, and the passion and curiosity she had for art was infinite, and even if I knew that her intention wasn't the one to impress me, she certainly managed to do so even without meaning to.

"I'm impressed kid," I said watching the proud, wide smile tugging at her lips. "Tell me about it..."

She looked at me slightly furrowing her eyebrows but with the same excited smile on her lips. "You sure?" She asked timidly but looking undeniably pleased that I asked her so.

"Yes... Only if you want to, of course." I replied with a small smirk, lifting my eyebrows and fixing my glasses as I placed my head on my hand, resting my elbow on the back of the couch and adopting a _listener_ position.

She was more than okay with it, and I knew that having her talk about her passion would have put her more at ease just like it happened all the other times, not to mention that I enjoyed listening to all the things she knew and watching the light of passion filling her eyes as the confidence filled her smooth elegant voice.

She explained to me with simple yet accurate words about the changes and difficulties that women had encountered through the centuries and about how the impact was taken by the society when they first started to have some power.

We shifted from art to literature, and the conversation flowed easily between us as it did the previous evening.

"...so yeah, long story short, every powerful woman whom had a certain influence on a patriarchal society, always ended up accused of witchcraft or some other kind of forbidden practicing during those centuries only because men felt threatened by our intelligence and revolutionary ideas."

I couldn't help but laugh for how she concluded her speech. "That's very accurate kid," I said hearing as also she started laughing softly. "But I'm afraid things haven't changed so much after all..."

She nodded at me as she agreed. "I think you are right. Now the competition is even worst because it is between the same gender, and some women can be worse than men. The only thing that has changed apparently is the B at the beginning of the word instead of the W when they want to insult you."

Another loud laugh had me shake in my seat at her joke as she smiled broadly at me for the reaction that she had managed to pull from me.

Talk with her felt so easy, so natural and right, the argoments we discussed were various, and never during the day we had experienced some kind of awkward embarassing moment.

It was early in the afternoon when we returned to the port only to find a place were we could eat something...

I found out that she, just like me, preferred red meat, medium cooked, without sauce but just olive oil and that she had a sweet tooth; something that I couldn't help but find adorable on her as she ate two big slices of apple pie.

During the meal I also found out that she was from Connecticut and that she hadn't returned there from a very long time.

Part of me wanted to ask her about her family, about the friends that she had left there, but I could see that the subject wasn't one of her favourites, and since I didn't want to upset the young woman, as soon as I noticed the way she avoided the topic I changed the direction of the conversation.

This was suppoused to be a nice fun day, and even if the sudden, barely hidden look of sorrow on her face had me more worried than what I thought, the last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable and ruin everything, but it was clear that whatever it was, affected her more than what she was trying to not show.

But the question that I kept asking to myself, the one that kept bouncing in my head, the one that I was more reluctant to know the answer, was how could such a smart, talented, passionate, young woman have ended up working for Sylvia's escort agency.

Part of me hoped that it was just to offer company and a beautiful mind to a gala night to make the host look good, but I knew, for how much I wanted to believe it, that it wasn't the case.

After all, I didn't meet her in that scenario...

Something inside me cracked everytime I heard the question echoing from the back of my mind.

But again, for as much as a part of me wanted to know the answer, I knew it would have been overstepping an invisible boundary, and the last thing I wanted, was ruin the progress we had made during those two days.

"You know," She asked pulling me out from my thoughts as we walked down the long wood pier before sitting on bench, admiring the sea in the distance behind the railing in front of us. "You seem to know more about me than what I know about you..."

There was no question in her tentative and shy voice, but I knew what she meant, what she wanted to know, and the idea had me more nervous than what I wanted to admit to myself as I tried everything to not show it from the outside.

"It's just... That I feel a little disadvantaged not even knowing what you do." She concluded biting softly her bottom lip before shifting her gaze on her lap, where she was playing absently with her hands.

It was a fair question.

And I knew it was going to come sooner or later, and by the way she asked me, I could tell that it was something she was probably waiting to know it since the moment I asked her to take the day off the night before.

What she knew about me was near to nothing despite the fact that we had been... _intimate_... in two separate occasions, that we shared the same interest about art, had a preference for the same kind of food and that I had showed an interest in her that was beyond our initial... arraingment.

But how could I tell her?

I looked at her, watching as her hair was moved gently by the wind, her eyes so bright, her skin a little shade darker after the morning spent under the sun.

How could I tell to this young beautiful woman whose effect on me kept growing with every passing minute, that we lived in two opposite worlds?

Where hers was made of art, light and beauty while mine was filled with thick, dark shadows, pain and... Death.

She looked at me when she noticed that I hadn't answered her and seemed to the point to dismiss her question, but I didn't allowed her to.

I couldn't tell her.

The less she knew about this, the better.

...But I could bend a little the truth.

"I..." I cleared my throat softly before my gaze returned to her, seeing that she had turned to look at me offering her complete attention and trying not to show too much curiosity, something that had me a bit more nervous, but not enough to make me reconsider the decision I had already taken.

"My job... Is to catch bad guys," I said after I swallowed the lump of nervousness I felt stuck in my throat. "The really bad ones. And make sure that they'll never hurt anyone else ever again."

I could tell by Piper's expression that she wasn't expecting it and that she looked also a bit confused by my answer.

"So... You are a prosecutor? A cop?" She asked curiously and I had to chuckle when I saw that look on her face.

"Definitely not a prosecutor, kid. More like a cop maybe... But not exactly." I hoped that my lame explaination would have been enough for her when it wasn't so even for me, but the small nod she gave me accompanied with an equal small smile tugging at her lips, told me that she would have accepted the explaination, for now, looking more at ease now that she kind of knew something more about me.

I saw as she smiled at me before she raised from her seat taking a few steps before she leaned against the railing to look at the horizon. The sun was casting much longer shadows now and the air was becoming chilly.

After a moment I stood too and reached her side, resting my forearms on the railing.

I saw her closing her eyes and inhaling deeply through her nose before her eyes fluttered open to look at the distant edge of the quiet sea once again.

The wind sent a wave of cool air and she shivered.

"Maybe we should go, it's getting chilly." I suggested a bit reluctantly shifting to stay a little closer to her, not wanting to leave just yet but not wanting her to feel cold either, as if my near presence was enough to make the air around warmer.

Her gaze shifted to look at me, her bright big blue eyes holding a cute pleading look.

"Can we stay just a little longer?" She asked and I chuckled softly, unable to resist to that tone or to the dimpled smile that she gave me back.

"So," I paused to fix my glasses. "Is it as good as the one in the painting?" I asked softly, tilting my head towards the slowly setting sun at the horizon when she looked at me.

She glanced briefly towards the sea before she turned to face me, taking a small step closer and shaking her head. "No..."

The look she gave me was the same that I had seen on her face the night before when we were in front of her building, only this time I was more prepared to welcome the storm of sensations that started inside me when I recognized it and saw her coming closer to rest just in front of me before she finished her sentence.

"It's much better."

It was all I needed.

The desire to do this had settled inside me since I first laid eyes on her that morning.

And this time, I didn't hesitate.

This time, I was the one who closed the small gap between us to claim her lips. Feeling her arms coming up to rest around my shoulders while my hands found the sweet curves of her waist as we kissed.

Slowly.

Deeply.

Until the sun hid under the sea to leave the sky to the stars.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey there!

So, apparentely the Alex / motorbike / leather combination has been much appreciated! :D I'm so glad you liked it ;) I was tempted to have her wear a pair of sunglasses and a shotgun strapped on her back, but I was afraid that that would have been too 'Terminator style'... Just kidding guys! :P

Anyway, before we start, I would like to take a moment and say a huge thank you to all the faithful readers of this story. I know that I say it often but, I really mean it :) You guys have no idea how much your support and all your kind words means to me, really... So thank you, for your patience, for giving me the time I need to give you a good story where the emotional connection takes a while to develop (because in real life it's exactly like that) and with such complex characters as Alex and Piper are, I'm even more reluctant in keeping things simple and just press fast forward to an end, and I also thank you because the majority of you guys already know and understand that. And to reassure you, I tell you that this story IS going somewhere, of that you don't have to worry about :)

Now, ready for another ride? :D

Enjoy

* * *

I needed to feel her.

To touch her.

To taste her.

To feel her as close to me as possible.

The need was an untamable force.

Stronger than anything else.

More urgent than to listen to my lungs as they screamed for air, but only the idea to separate my lips from hers was inconceivable.

So I just melt into her arms, pressing her against the front door of my apartment, finding the zip of her bike jacket and starting to undress her as I kept kissing her like I had never kissed anyone else before in my life.

During the ride back at my place I just kept feeling such need growing inside me, swelling into my chest, and now that I had her in the way I had desired for the whole day, I had every intention to savour every small moment, every kiss, every touch, every breath I felt caressing the side of my cheek and every soft groan I could hear coming from the raven haired woman whose hands were around me, touching me under my coat and sweater, sending warm electricity up my spine even with their innocent touch against my stomach and back.

The harsh urgency, the primal vicious force that I had noticed consuming her the first two times, was nowhere to be found.

But the ardent passion was always there, in a different, much tender, much gentle way.

Her touch was soft but secure, her kisses deep, her small bites teasing, offering just that hint of pain that was immediately soothed as soon as she ran her tongue over the sensitive area.

Feeling the same woman but in a completely different way from the one I had first met.

I didn't know if I should have enjoyed this more, but I knew it felt more... _Real._

I had been overcome by a storm of sensations since the first night, since the first moment I had laid eyes on her, but now, those sensations were turning inside me, shifting into something new, into something deeper.

Something which meaning kept increasing at the same rhythm of the beats of my heart.

She gripped my waist a little harder to bring me closer and I didn't resist, pulling the zipper of her jacket down for the rest of the way before, without separating our lips, I started taking it off her, sliding it down her broad shoulders and letting it fall silently on the ground.

I moaned softly into her mouth when my hands came in contact with her back, feeling the strong muscles there flexing under my touch.

Leather looked simply delicious on her.

But knowing the magnificent body that was hiding under those layers, just made me want to see her and feel her naked pressed against me.

It wasn't _just_ a sexual need, or the simple crave for a release.

It was so much more.

I seeked for the most intimate level of closeness between our bodies, hoping that it would have brought us as close as I felt the emotional one keep growing between us; the one that had reached an apex during that day.

Her kindness, her thoughtfulness, her sincere interest in me...

My heart skipped a beat when I realized that no one else had ever showed the kind of interest that she had showed in me just in the last few days.

She had started to _know me_ , but she was still a great mystery to me.

The only information that I had been _able_ to obtain from her was that she was some sort of special cop: the imaginative part of me even suspected her to be a spy for a few moments, and given all the secrecy and the reluctancy to talk about it, that idea didn't seem so absurd after all.

But aside from her possible profession, I found out other things that day, small ones; the ones that had me smile without meaning to whenever I thought about them, for how irrelevant they could seem to anyone else.

Like the way I noticed how her long dark hair changed color under the bright rays of the sun, turning from a jet black into beautiful, different shades of red. The way her eyes showed the hidden flecks of brown and gold near the center, around the pupil, when the light was so intense, and the way her skin remained a perfect alabaster even after hours spent under the sun.

I also noticed the way her playful smirks had turned into softer, authentic smiles during the day, and that she always found a way to stay just a bit closer to me whenever she had the chance... Or maybe I was the one doing that.

My hands went lower, over her toned abdomen, but as soon as I reached the front of her leather pants and started to fiddle to open the buttons there, to my immense disappointment, she broke the kiss, placing her hand above mine to stop my movement.

Only in that moment, I realized how out of breath I was, but that was nothing compared to the loss I felt and to the sudden sense of anxiety that grew into my chest as I wondered why she had stopped me.

My eyes fluttered open a second later and they immediately met hers, the two bright green gems that kept shining even in the darkness of the room.

Her face just barely illuminated by the moonlight coming through the living room window, but that weak illumination was enough for me to read the hint of hesitancy and concern on her face under the deep ocean of passion and desire in her eyes.

Her hand came up to cup my cheek and I couldn't help but melt into that gentle touch even if the sudden sense of concern had me almost paralized at the idea that maybe she was having second thoughts, and that maybe I had read more than what I thought was there...

But my worries dissipated and an immense sense of relief filled me as soon as I heard her deep, slightly husky voice asking me

"Are you sure you want _this_ , Piper?"

Her tone so gentle and tentative, just like her eyes as they searched for the smallest hint of reluctance in me, something that she didn't find, because... there wasn't.

My hand came up to caress her cheek with my fingertips, a soft smile forming on my lips when I noticed how the vulnerable part that she was trying so hard to contain started to surface under the confidence that I was used to see firmly in place.

But this time was different.

We both knew it.

And the fact that she had asked me that, was the confirmation.

I didn't make her wait a second longer and with a small, emotional lump stuck in my throat, I whispered the only truth that I felt growing inside me.

"I want _you_ , Alex."

A wave of relief and a brighter, and even warmer flame of passion, sparkled into her mystic green eyes, and a moment later, her lips returned to me in a perfect combination of eagerness and tenderness that made my head spin.

A trail of clothes was left behind us we undressed between kisses, and I led her towards my bedroom on my wobbly legs.

Every gesture, every touch, since the moment she laid me down on the bed, was pure gentleness.

Accurate.

Passionate.

Which effect on my flesh, started to match the one that kept swelling into my chest.

She workshipped my body like I was a goddess.

Kissed every inch of me, biting down softly on the most sensitive spots of my body as she send me wave after wave of such an intense and unique pleasure that took my breath away everytime, leaving me a shivering mess as my heart filled with warmth and sentiment, making of the persistent desired that I felt to touch her, and to bring her the same fulfilling sensations that she made me feel, beyond my own need.

And she let me.

I could read it in her eyes that she needed this as much as I did.

I spent extra time on the crook of her neck, kissing her smooth skin and biting gently on the sensitive spots there, filling my nostrils with her distinctive, addictive scent mixed with the slightly salty one of her sweat that held just a reminder of leather.

I paid all the attentions that her body needed, all the ones that I could sense from her, listening to what it was telling me as her muscles flexed under my fingertips, as she ran her hand through my hair, gently keeping me in place as I tasted her pure essence on my lips and tongue and lifting her hips, trying to take me inside when I was touching her.

More than once during that night, I felt her come in my mouth, falling over the edge along with me as she grind against my thigh while she touched me and feeling as her inner muscles clenched repeatedly around my fingers when I was inside of her.

The room was filled with the mixed scents of our arousal, with the sound of the rustling sheets as our bodies moved against each other, with our labored breathing, and with the whispers of our names falling silently, breathlessly, from each other lips whenever we reached the apex of an incomparable pleasure.

A pleasure that I had only experienced with her, but that this time, reached deeper places inside me.

What happened between Alex and me that night, was not purely physical.

I had sex enough times in my young life -even if in the last few months I hadn't been so willing to do so- to know, without any doubt, that that night, I didn't have sex.

After hours spent in each other arms, our bodies protested, our muscles screamed with exertion as our lungs cried for air, but that didn't stop us from sharing small tender kisses until complete exhaustion took us both.

I saw her shifting from her position on top of me to lay at my side, and I turned to face her and the small, tired, but sincere and full of sentiment smile on her lips.

I had never seen her look more beautiful than she did in that moment.

There were no words we needed exchange, we had already given everything we could, everything we had, expressed the sharing sensations that persisted inside of me and that she also let me see and feel inside of her, so I just snuggled closer, feeling more content than I had been in a very long time when she took me willingly in her strong, comforting arms, wrapping them protectively around me.

I placed small, soft kisses on her collarbone and neck as she ran her fingertips up and down my spine, and the last thing that I remember before sleep claimed me, was the smile I felt forming on my lips when I realized that her scent had mixed with mine in a new, unique combination.

My heart fluttered and it started beating at the rhythm of that supreme, well known, overwhelming emotion that I could no longer ignore I felt towards the beautiful raven haired woman who was holding me and whose comforting caresses on my back lulled me to sleep.

 **. . .**

I started to wake up with a calm, serene sensation that I was no longer used to feel, and that I hadn't felt in a very, _very_ long time.

I didn't open my eyes just yet, but I limited in savouring that quiet and incredibly comforting moment for a little longer, letting out a long slow breath through my nose until my lungs were empty and then refilling them just as slowly.

A sweet, familiar scent reached my nostrils, lighter than usual, and I registered the faint sound of shuffling papers right before I felt the mattress dip under a weight that shifted to come closer to me.

Tentatively and still partially feeling into the oblivion of sleep, I peeked one eye open from my prone position, and even if I didn't have my glasses on and I was just barely awake, I could have distinguished that shade of golden hair and those clear, smiling blue eyes even from a mile.

The sunlight was so intense in the room, that I had to close my eye once again, but I reached out my hand until I found warm, inviting bare skin.

A soft giggle reached my ears at the contact.

And a small smile formed on my lips at that sound.

I heard her placing something down, maybe on a bedside table, the same shuffling sound accompanied with a dull thud, and then I felt the warmth of that body coming closer to me, the light weight of a delicate hand being placed on the small of my completely naked back followed by a pair of warm soft lips pressing a tender kiss on my shoulder blade.

The small smile on my lips turned slowly into a full grin when those lips started leaving a trail of kisses up my shoulder until she reached my neck and at that point, when another scent reached my nostrils, I groaned softly; my voice sounding so deep and incredibly husky when I spoke that I barely recognized it as my own.

"Do you always smell like mint when you wake up in the morning, kid?" Part of what I said was muffled by the pillow because of my position, but I heard pretty clearly the new round of chuckles coming from the blonde.

"No... I've just brushed my teeth." She whispered before placing a kiss on my cheek, close to the corner of my mouth.

I opened my eye once again, this time preparing myself to welcome the light and unable to suppress a grin when I looked up and saw her propped up on one elbow, smiling softly down at me.

"Have you been up for long?" I asked, slightly turning my head so that I could have looked better at her as I started running my hand up and down her hip and upper thigh.

She shook her head but it was the soft blush that appeared on her cheeks that had me purse my lips a little to not show my suspicious smirk, something that I could no longer suppress when I looked down and noticed the dark gray powder colored fingertips on her hand that was resting on the bed.

"You were drawing, weren't you?" I lifted my eyebrow as my gaze returned up to meet hers.

I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw how her eyes widened before she diverted her gaze; it was so entertaining see her acting like a little kid caught with the hand in the cookie jar.

I turned to rest on my side, gently grabbing her hand and slowly caressing her stained fingertips with my thumb when her eyes returned to me.

Even this simple touch, this innocent contact with her had the most powerful effect on me.

The same warm fluttering sensation spread into my chest, only this time was a thousand times more intense, as a new smile formed on my lips; after the night we had spent in each other arms, I had the confirmation that I wasn't the only one who felt that something was definitely happening between... Us.

The deep sense of comfort that derived from that knowledge was unexpected, but it made everything real, and it made me feel a kind of elation and contentment that I had forgotten, even if at the same time, I couldn't ignore the shadow of concern that had settled heavily on my chest, and which whisper echoed in my mind.

"Can I see it?" I asked refering to the draw, trying to push aside the last unpleasant sensation and watching her biting her bottom lip as if she was considering my gentle request.

" _Please_..." I added after a moment as if it would have been enough to convince her, and to my incredible delight, it was.

The blush returned to warm her cheeks. "It's just a sketch..." She said as she pulled herself up and reached on the bedside table for the same sketchbook that I had seen when she was drawing that day at the museum.

It was only in that moment that I saw that she was wearing a large white t-shirt that made her look even smaller and... Incredibly cute.

I pulled myself up too and a second later she handed me the sketchbook; her voice so soft and tentative when she spoke, with just a hint of concern and nervousness that I couldn't understand why was even present.

"The light was just perfect and the position..."

Her voice trailed off, and even if I wanted to reassure her, I couldn't divert my gaze from the draw resting in my hands.

She had drawn _me_.

I felt as all the air was sucked from my lungs and the same fluttering feeling started into my chest.

She had drawn me just like I was when I woke up a few minutes before; resting on my stomach, hands under the pillow, head turned on the side towards her with the bed sheets resting around my hips leaving my back completely exposed.

"...I just couldn't help myself." Those last words left her lips so softly that I barely heard them, and when my gaze shifted to finally look at her, I saw that she was nervously running her hand up and down her arm, and that the soft pink on her cheeks had turned into a furious red blush.

"It's beautiful Piper..." My voice was filled with pure astonishment even if I already knew how skilled she was, and when she looked up at me, tentatively, she saw the same awe, but especially the sincerity into my eyes.

"You don't think it's kind of... _disturbing_... that I was drawing you while you were asleep?"

Those two clear pools had widened a bit more but she sounded also partially relieved by my compliment.

I couldn't contain the deep chuckle that I felt forming in my chest after I heard her asking me that.

If it was anyone else, I would have been more than suspicious, but even if I had known Piper for a short time, _disturbing_ was the last thing that I could think about whenever I looked at her, seeing nothing but the portrait of shyness and innocence into the young woman, along with intelligence and great talent.

"Of course not... That word didn't even cross my mind, kid." I reassured her and watched as a relieved smile spread slowly over her face before my gaze returned to the draw, admiring every detail, to the creases of the sheets around my hips, till the accurate use of the shadows.

"It's really beautiful."

I felt her shifting closer and I raised my head meeting a pair of suddenly timid blue eyes.

"If that's so, it's only because I had a beautiful subject..."

Without diverting my eyes from hers, I rested the sketchbook on top of the sheets and brought my hand up, placing it on the side of her neck.

We leaned in at the same moment, and in the instant our lips touched, it sent back to me every passionate moment that we had shared the previous night.

Such an incredible sensation that took my breath away.

I had never felt anything like that before.

My hand went lower to stroke the smooth warm skin of her stomach under her shirt as hers travelled down my neck until it rested on my chest and she started pushing me down, gently, so that I could lay on the bed once again, and I complied, feeling as her body settled partially on top of mine, gracefully.

I wrapped my arms around her and all I could think about, was how good it felt to have her resting so close to me. It was so strangely comforting, and part of me couldn't help but feel amazed for how my body responded so energetically to her touch every single time.

We kissed softly for a few minutes, with no urgency, no rush, no hunger.

We had already lived those moments that consisted in giving everything we could to the other; expressing and sharing the same sensations that confirmed our mutual attraction that wasn't purely physical or guided exclusively by lust.

What we felt, was far beyond those simple things.

She placed one last kiss on my neck before she curled to stay closer to me, placing her head between my chest and shoulder as I played with her hair.

Despite what I thought I would have felt, I didn't have a thousand of questions floating in my mind, her words from last night, the way she said them and the meaning behind them echoed from my memory and gave me the answer that was the most important for me.

 _I want you, Alex._

I closed my eyes and a smile appeared on my lips as my heart started beating so fast that I was sure she could hear it.

She wanted _me_.

And I wanted her.

I wanted her more than what I could express with words. More than how I had ever desired someone.

But there was a question that I couldn't ignore, the same that was always there waiting for me around the next corner.

I turned my head to look at the sketchbook resting on top of the sheets and then I looked around the small, simply, but nicely decored bedroom until my eyes landed on the filled bookshelf that occupied an entire wall, and I sighed deeply.

I already had an idea about which could have been a possible answer for that question...

"You okay?" She asked softly when she heard my sigh, as she started tracing casual patterns on my lower abdomen and hip with her fingertips.

I swallowed, hard, as if it would have been enough to slow down my racing heart or to swallow down the question that I felt forming in my throat.

I nodded.

"Yeah..."

But I wasn't feeling so okay.

I needed to know...

Maybe it wasn't the best moment, but I couldn't wait for a better one. Not after how things had shifted between us the previous night.

I ran my fingers through her smooth golden hair and I brought her just a little closer, hearing as she hummed softly in appreciation, it was another thing I discovered I enjoyed very much doing, but in that moment I did it because I wanted her to know, even before I decided to ask it, that I would have remained right where I was... If she wanted me to.

"It is for the college and the studies... Isn't it?"

I tried to ask it as softly as I could, barely above a whisper, my voice holding no judgment or disappointment and my tone wasn't demanding or curious, but as soon as I asked it, I felt her go stiff beside me.

She stopped tracing small circles around my hip under the sheets and I found myself holding my breath, knowing that I couldn't take it back, but hoping that she wouldn't have pushed me away.

She remained quiet and still for over a minute and I was to the point to apologize, suspecting that I had probably overstepped that invisible line; because it didn't matter how close we had become in the last few days. For her I was probably still a stranger...

But then she restarted drawing lines over my abdomen and she snuggled just a bit closer before she answered.

"Yes..."

She said it so softly that I almost didn't catch it, and a second later I found myself starting breathing once again, but at the same time feeling the sense of concern inside me growing into something else.

"...what about a scholarship?" I asked just as softly, still stroking her hair and holding her close.

She remained quiet some more before I heard her taking in a long deep breath.

"The college is helping me but... It's not enough. Not even with my grades..."

I turned to rest on my side so that I could look at her as she kept talking.

"I arrived to do three jobs during the week, waiting tables in three different resurants, but the only result was that I skipped my lessons and that I was too tired to study when I arrived at home." She paused. Seeing her swallow the lump stuck in her throat shattered something inside of me, but I let her finish, already suspecting what she was going to say next.

"Then one day, this redhead, Sylvia, entered in the resturant where I was working during the lunches and... I think you know how that ended."

There was defeat in her voice, disappointment, and, for as much as she tried to hide it, I could clearly see the deep embarassment and pain into those blue eyes.

Anger started to boil inside me in a consuming fire, and even if it wasn't easy to keep it at bay, with the vulnerable blonde laying so closed beside me, whose eyes started to fill with silent tears, I knew that she was my priority in that moment. Everything else could wait.

She couldn't.

"Come here."

I took her in my arms and she curled, melting against me in a comforting embrance as I massagged delicately the back of her neck in a soothing way.

I clenched my jaw, thinking about her talent, her intelligence and thinking that no one should ever pay such an high price to follow their passions. No one.

Especially not the sweet shy girl cuddled in my arms.

I thought back about our first encounter and I couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust for myself.

Even if I knew that I hadn't forced her and that she was more than willing to do what I wanted, I felt ashamed of myself.

But this wasn't about me.

I kept holding her, hoping that she would have received some kind of comfort as I considered a few things, and after I thought carefully about my words, I decided to ask something that I hoped with every part of me that she was going to accept.

"Piper," I waited until she pulled back from my chest and looked up at me with big blue eyes filled with tears. "Please, let me help you..." I was more than ready to pay her debt myself if it would have mean that she could focus on her studies and end with the escort job.

But what left her lips, was exactly the answer I dreaded for.

"No... I can't accept."

She shook her head with convinction and I felt the obvious question already forming in my throat, but she gave me the answer before I could ask.

"If you help me, then everything I have worked so hard for, every sacrifice I have made during these years-" Her voice cracked and I felt that crack resonating also into my chest. "...It'll have been in vain."

The pleading look she gave me had a devastating impact on me, something that I wasn't even aware I could feel with such intensity, especially not after all the other much more destructive things that had happened in my past and that had shattered me, but it did.

I could perfectly see how much this meant to her.

Passion, talent and intellingence weren't the only characteristics in her; that morning I found out exactly how much independence meant to the young woman and how strong she was.

A place inside me couldn't help but swell with pride, admiring those traits just like I admired the others; but another part shattered. I felt incredibly defeated and... Useless. Knowing that she wasn't going to accept my help, didn't matter how many times or in how many different ways I would have tried to ask her.

She was still looking at me, as if she was waiting for the answer of the question that I could read in her eyes.

And with every fiber of my body fighting against me, fighting against an answer that I couldn't even think about, I managed to nod.

"Okay..."

I stroked her cheek tenderly and a moment later, she leaned in to place a soft, sweet kiss on my lips.

It said "Thank you."

It said "Sorry."

But it also reconfirmed silently that she still wanted _this_ ; the affection that was growing between us.

And when she pulled back resting her head on my shoulder once again, snuggling closer to seek more contact with me, the only thing I kept thinking about as I held her tightly in my arms, feeling her breath caressing my breast and her warmth surrounding me, was that I had to find a way to help her.


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone!

I'm so glad you liked the previous chapter guys :D

Sorry for the short delay, but I'm back with a new chapter for you :)

Enjoy

* * *

Pulling away from Alex's arms that morning was incredibly difficult, especially after the sense of comfort and safeness that I felt warming me from the inside when she had them wrapped so protectively around me.

There was nothing that I would have enjoyed more than to spend the day in bed with her, like in a quiet sunday morning, exploring each other bodies over and over as we had done the night before, or simply cuddling, exchanging sweet kisses and melt in the feeling of her hands running up and down my back, but we both needed to return to our duties.

She had managed to make me feel better, so much better that the unpleasant sensations that our last conversation had brought up, had reduced once again into distant whispers on the back of my mind, and after a while, she even succeded in making me smile sincerely once again, a smile that had turned into a full excited grin, barely resisting the urge to jump up and down, when she said that she would have liked to spend some more time with me, maybe the next day during my lunch break after class and before my afternoon study session, I suggested...

Maybe in the park...

When I heard her asking me that, my heart fluttered uncontrollably into my chest and my cheeks started to hurt for how much I was smiling. But I couldn't help it.

Just like I couldn't help but spend a good ten minutes kissing her in front of my apartment door when she was ready to leave; only because everytime she pulled back with the intention to exit, I always grabbed her another time, unable to resist the urge and wanting to prolong, even if for just a moment longer, that blissful sensation that I felt when those irresistible, full rosy lips were joined with mine and moved together in perfect sync, until she started chuckling humorously into our kisses, realizing that my reaction was nothing but a deep reluctance to let her go, knowing that I had to wait another day before I would have seen her again, but feeling reassured by the promise I saw shining into her bright emerald eyes and by the tender smile she gave me as she cupped my cheeks and kissed me deeply one last time right before she left.

...I missed her since the moment the door closed behind her.

I couldn't stay in the apartment after she left; there was no way that I would have been able to focus on my studies with her intoxicating scent lingering in my bedroom and with the whispers of our names echoing between the walls from the previous night, so I dressed, grabbed my shoulder bag, the books I needed and headed towards the library.

But even if I spent the rest of the day in a surrounding that didn't directly remind me of her, her scent, her voice, her smile... Kept me company from my very fresh, very vivid memories for the entire day, something that had me smile countless times and that didn't make things easy for me and for the concentration that was highly required during my researches.

The large main room of the library was strangely crowded that day but also, thankfully, incredibly silent, and the only noises were the few occasional coughs and the sound of shuffling paper as the other students took notes, flipping through the pages of the piles of books resting beside them as they prepared for their upcoming tests just like I was trying to do for my thesis.

My graduation was a few months away, and the fact that I had already found an argument that was very appreciated by my professors and that I had already started to assemble, had me advantaged.

I was excited about it and I didn't want to slow down, but I permitted myself to also take some extra time for my researches, taking in consideration a few other historical periods and other paintings that I could insert into it, after all, the argument was incredibly vast.

I was flipping through the pages of a Modern Art text book when my attention was caught by a picture of one of the subjects that I absolutely wanted to analyze with the attention it deserved.

The picture was large, it occupied an entire page and it was printed in an extremely high quality, something that I appreciated immensely and that almost made me believe it was the original painting the one that I had in front of me.

An incredible work that had been analyzed by so many critics during the century, and which had lead to two different interpretations about the identity of the woman protagonist of the painting.

Klimt had entitled his work _Judith and the Head of Holofernes_ , representing the heroine with the aspect of Adele Bloch-Bauer, a wealty society Viennese woman, where the symbolic value as a sacred icon had been partially mantained, suggested also by the precious golden frame.

But for the way the subject was represented, ignoring any narrative reference and with the absence of the sword used to behead Holofernes, the art critics had seen in the woman in the painting, Salome, another biblical figure.

Despite the original title, both the interpretations about whom the woman might have been had solid basis; it was because of other elements that were or were not present in the painting that had rended it so discussed.

Judith appeared like an instrument of salvation, whose courage and virtuous nature had been expressed in several previous works, where the episode had been described heroically and painted by many others as she beheaded Holofernes with a sword.

But those elements were scarcely present in Klimt's work.

The other supposition about the identity of the woman in the painting instead, saw Salome; the incarnation of the cruelty that a woman could feel and was capable of.

The tormenting temptress.

The perverted seductress whom lead to destruction and to the death of her own lover.

The exaltation of the _Femme Fatal_.

Her long fingers, more similar to animal claws, caressed deviously the severed head of Holofernes that she was holding, face showed nothing but pure pleasure, but her look was cold, holding the meaning of the painting between two extremities, where on one side there was the expression of ecstasy to indicate the sexuality and seduction, and on the other side the lugubrious presence of death, wrapped up in a decadent atmosphere suspended between sacred and profane.

Even in the warm main room of the library, when I looked right into her eyes, I felt a gelid shiver ran down my spine.

Where Judith was a heroine and a figure of justice for her people, Salome held a meaning that was the opposite; she was the symbol of evil and perversity.

But the woman in the painting could have been both.

She _was_ both.

A brutal murderer.

And a triumphant heroine.

I sighed.

I didn't know what to think of it; Klimt hadn't painted the heroic act in his work.

He had painted a woman whom seemed to have received an immense pleasure in slaying the Assyrian general, and even if the act had brought salvation and justice to her people, the derived pleasure and the cruel satisfied look that she showed after slaying him... Changed the whole meaning. And it made it morally wrong.

But behind the meaning of the representation, and focusing just on the image, in front of the sensuality and power that she showed, my thoughts drifted immediately towards another woman whose confidence had been the first thing that I had noticed right after her breathtaking beauty. The same woman whose aura of mystery was as compelling as the one in the painting, but whose eyes held just gentleness and passion whenever she looked at me; and just that thought, was enough to replace the icy cold shiver along my spine with the familiar warmth and comfort that always settled inside of me whenever I thought about Alex.

I remained in the library until it closed, and it was pretty late in the afternoon, early evening, by the time I returned back at home, feeling tired but satisfied after a long day spent buried into books and notes.

Maybe it was just my imagination, the reminder of the beautiful, passionate night I had spent with the raven haired woman the night before, but I could have sworn that the first thing that welcomed me that evening as soon as I stepped into my small apartment, was that distinctive intoxicating scent. It was faint, delicate, but strong enough for me to recognize it.

It made my heart flutter wildly and put a smile on my face.

I locked the door behind me and deposited my coat and shoulder bag on the chair in front of the desk as soon as I reached my bedroom where the bed was still unmade and the sight was enough to send back to me flashes of that same morning.

From when I woke up after what I thought could only have been a very vivid dream, but feeling as my heart skipped a beat when I realized that it wasn't when I saw her lying asleep next to me, unable to resist the urge to admire her beauty or to draw her when the sensation that made my hands itch represented as soon as my eyes landed on her perfect, completely exposed back. Her long black hair splayed out on her creamy shoulders, her face relaxed with a faint smile on her lips that made me wonder if I was just imagining it as her eyelashes fluttered as she dreamed.

It was like watching a majestic panther sleeping.

But the smile on my lips became sadder until it disappeared completely and a lump formed in my throat when I also remembered the specific conversation we had after she woke up and exchanged a few kisses.

I tried to push that thought aside, knowing that the matter needed to be faced, but having no idea how I should have faced it...

She had asked me to _let_ her help me.

The lump in my throat became almost painful.

She was willing to help me even if we had just started to know each other.

I tried to swallow but the sensation remained there, stuck in my throat, worsening when my thoughts shifted to the reason of the concern that I had managed to avoid for the whole day.

For a few moments, I just wanted to push aside all those troubeling thoughts, and especially the ones about... _work_... The ones about that part of my life that had nothing to do with whom I was, and that after the latest events and all that was happening between Alex and me, made me feel more reluctant than I had ever been just thinking about it.

For a few moments I wanted to believe that I was just a student and that someone had shown a true interest in me, appreciated me not only because of my body, but started also to know me for the person whom I really was.

And in that thought, even if it didn't last long, I found the same comfort that after so long, only Alex had managed to make me feel.

And I smiled.

 **. . .**

"You know," I looked up from behind my desk and towards the door of my office when I heard Nicky's voice, seeing her leaned against the door frame and wondering for how long she had been there, but before I could ask, she continued.

"I hope you realize that you have been wearing that ridiculous smile on your lips for the last five minutes now."

As soon as I registered that, I tried to hide said smile biting the inside of my cheek but that only made Nicky chuckle humorously. "Too late sister, I've already seen it..."

 _Dammit._

She walked in and stopped right in front of my desk, her expression beyond amused.

"...and I know that it _didn't_ appear on you face because of the new list you are reading."

I tilted my head down, fiddling with my glasses as I looked at the list of most wanted that the Agency had just sent to me.

Nicky was right.

Usually, in front of a list like the one that was resting in my hands, I would have heard the light growl inside me becoming a loud roar and I would have licked my lips and felt my mouth watering just like if I was looking at the pictures of a dessert menu, but that afternoon, for the first time since I had started doing this _job_ , to my incredible surprise, I didn't feel the same appetite while I looked at the faces of my possible future preys.

I placed the list down, pulled away my glasses and started playing absently with them as Nicky silently took a seat on the swivel chair across from me.

If there was something, _anything_ that was bothering me, a question that needed to be answered a problem that needed to be solved, I had always been able to find what I wanted in my job.

It was all I lived for, all that ever had a true meaning to me since I started doing it after what had happened when Nicky and I were still with the Feds.

...It was the only real purpose I had left.

But this time, the sensation that clenched my stomach, the fluttering warm feeling in my chest and the questions that swirled around in my head, were completely different sensations of a completely different nature respect the ones I was used to deal with on a daily basis.

This time, trying to focus on my job didn't have the result I was hoping I would have got.

My thoughts about Piper were more than welcomed in my head, as were the warm pleasant sensations they sent inside me and, as Nicky had noticed, authentic smiles on my lips that were making my friend suspicious.

But the troubling questions that derived from the last conversation I had with her that morning while I was holding her in her bed... Those were the ones that I couldn't push aside even if I wanted to, the ones that had me unfocused, distracted from my job because of the need that I felt to find an answer, a solution about Piper's current situation even if she herself had told me that she couldn't accept my help.

I sighed, closing my eyes as I ran a hand thorough my hair in frustration. A gesture that, of course, didn't pass unnoticed by Nicky.

"Is everything okay Al?" Her voice became suddenly softer, the humor was completely gone, and when I looked up to meet her gaze, I saw the small tentative smile on her face, but that only accentuated the look of concern into her kind dark eyes.

I chewed nervously on the inside of my cheek as I considered what to do.

Maybe this time I just needed to talk...

Strangely enough, the idea didn't seem so bad actually.

If only I knew where to start...

Luckily I didn't have to start at all, because it was Nicky the one who started, asking me a question that managed to put another one of those smiles on my face.

"Did _mysterious girl_ enjoyed the ride on your bike?" Her tone had become normal again and I was glad to hear Nicky's usual playfulness into it; her humor was something that made me feel at ease every time.

I nodded at her, feeling as the small smile on my lips reached my eyes.

"Yeah... She did." I answered, and then paused as I remembered the way she had wrapped her arms around me, embracing me from behind while I was driving.

"Maybe I have enjoyed it a little more..." I confessed when I thought back about the powerful sensation that I felt for the whole the ride and remaining surprised by the incredible effect that it had on me feeling her so close.

Nicky shook her head as she chuckled, definitely amused, but not surprised by what I said.

"I bet you did, sister. And what about the rest of the day?" She asked as soon as she recovered.

Nicky wasn't exactly showing curiosity, but I could see that she was really interest by the way her smiling brown eyes were shining.

"It was..." I paused, trying to find the right words, but I couldn't come up with nothing that could have described the depth of exactly how pleasant, intense and... _bonding_... the day spent with Piper had been the previous one. At last I surrendered, and chose to answer with a sighed "...nothing I have ever felt before, Nicky."

It was the truth.

Nicky didn't say anything, she just sit back on her chair with a barely contained smirk on her lips, waiting as if she knew that I was going to reveal more. She knew there was way more; after all, she saw me return at home just that same morning, and suspected that I had spent the night with the same _mysterious girl_.

She was just enjoying counting down the seconds before I would have give in and revealed the details about the previous day.

And she didn't have to wait for long.

I decided that I needed a listening ear for once and Nicky had always offered hers; it was me the one whom had always showed a bit of reluctance in talking about certain things during the years.

And not knowing how I should have interpreted what was happening and why I was feeling all those sensations running inside me, the fact that that afternoon my reluctance to talk about what was going on wasn't as strong as how it had been all the other times, was probably something good for me.

Maybe Nicky would have been able to help me to understand a few things.

I looked up at her from where I was playing absently with my glasses on the desk to meet an encouraging smile on her face. It was a look that appeared so rarely and that I wasn't exactly used to see on my best friend's face; it kind of surprised me, but again, it was just her way of showing me that she was truly interested in what I was going to say.

I didn't go into details, she already suspected it was the same person that I had invited to the art exhibition a couple of nights previous, and trying not to reveal her name as I told Nicky about where I decided to bring her and how we spent the rest of the day talking and feeling incredibly comfortable in each other presence, was more difficult than what I thought, but I managed, even if her name was always there, ready to slip from my lips, and the temptation to just say it was becoming stronger with every passing second.

"She is so smart Nicky," I said feeling my own voice filled with pride as I stood from my chair to turn and take a couple of steps towards the glass wall only to sit on the couch in front of it and looking towards the distant woods and to the effect the last sun rays had on the trees, unable not to think back about the previous day in front of the beautiful sight.

Once again I sighed, running a hand through my hair, feeling the cushions of the couch dip as Nicky took a seat beside me before I continued. "So passionate, and curious about what she does..." My voice trailed off and my gaze shifted down to look at my hands resting in my lap.

From the pride that was audible at the beginning, my tone had become more and more defeated, frustrated, reflecting exactly what I felt as I listed only a small part of Piper's qualities, reminding me once again about the fact that she hadn't accepted my help.

"She seems pretty amazing Alex..."

I turned my head to look at her and gave her a small smile.

"Yeah... She really is."

She let her hand drop on the back of the couch and shifted to stay just a bit closer to me as a new, sadder, and a bit confused look appeared on her face before she asked

"Then what is it that it's bothering you so much, Alex?"

There was real concern in her voice but it was nothing compared the one I could see in her eyes.

After she gave me that look, I felt the last bit of my resolution crumble.

I wanted to tell her everything.

I really did.

But something was holding me back.

I knew she wouldn't have judged me if I decided to tell her that the young woman whom I had seen in the past two days was actually Piper; the same young woman whom had been at my place as an escort.

Nicky had never judged me before. Ever.

She was the last real friend I had left, but she wasn't just that; after all that had happened...

She was the most important person I had left in my life.

She had remained at my side, picked up my pieces and helped me in doing what had costed us both our badge and even if I had never stopped from insist that she should have stayed out of that mess and that I didn't want her to get involved for her own safety, she had never abbandoned me.

The only thing that she hadn't been able to reduce and that I, myself, was still dealing with after six long years, was the feeling of guilt that had never disappeared, and that had left a deep scar on my soul.

Nicky's judgment wasn't what was holding me back.

It was something else...

I opened my mouth, not knowing how I should have answered, once again having no idea from where I should have started and still not feeling ready to face the main and most obvious of my concerns.

I saw as Nicky's small smile became a tentative smirk when, trying to encourage me to continue, she added "I can tell that you really, _really_ , like her..."

This time I didn't say anything. I just swallowed hard as, for what seemed like the hundredth time, I asked to myself _exactly how much_ I liked her, feeling as the same answer started to beat faster into my chest.

"Oh God..."

After hearing that, I turned my head to look at Nicky. A frown formed between my eyebrows when I saw the wide eyed, shocked expression on her face that had me immediately worried, but before I could ask what was wrong, she said something that hit me unexpectedly like a perfect punch right in my stomach, sucking all the air out from my lungs and stopping my heart for an infinite long, painful beat.

"You are falling for her."

It wasn't a question.

It was a pretty clear statement.

I felt as my hands became suddenly sweaty and all the blood in my body gathered on my face and neck, cursing my pale skin because I knew it was probably starting to show, and I knew Nicky was already noticing it, but, luckily, she was still looking unbelievably shocked to say anything, something that I was incredibly glad for, but not as much as I was when I heard the doorbell ring.

Before I could realize it, I jumped from the couch and reached the surveillance monitors on my desk in two fast strides, putting my glasses on and recognizing the black Mercedes behind the closed gates on the driveway.

"It's Jamie." I said feeling immensely grateful for the distraction but with a note of confusion in my voice.

"Alex-"

In the mean time, Nicky had started to recover and was reaching my side on the desk, acting as if nothing had interrupted us; I could sense and see that she was still shocked and concerned, but I couldn't face the matter right now.

"Did I have an appointment with Jamie or something?" The confusion was now covering even my features as I looked at Nicky, seeing as she sighed, deeply, not pleased by the way I was avoiding the matter, but offering me an answer anyway.

"She's here for your painting," After a second, realization hit me and I remembered about the Turner's landscape that I had left to her to restor a few days previous. "She has called me yesterday when you were out, knowing that you are not always _traceable_ on your phone, and told me that she would have brought the painting this evening instead of tomorrow morning, because apparently the Museum needs some help and she was asked to make some interview from tomorrow for a few new employees..."

As soon as I registered the last thing she said, I turned my head towards her and blinked a few times.

"They need new employees?" I asked hoping that it was what I had just heard and feeling as my heart started beating faster with anticipation.

Obviously, in front of such an unexpected question, Nicky looked at me as if I had just gone mad before she replied "Yeah, so? It's not a big deal..."

But just when I thought that her expression couldn't become more confused, when she saw the wide, happy grin spreading on my face before I pushed on the button to open the driveway gates and let my art restorer friend in, Nicky gave me a dimostration that she actually could look even more bewildered.

I started to walk toward the door to go downstairs, hearing Nicky's steps right behind me before she called my name to get my attention and then I turned to look at her.

A minute before I felt just like I had dodged a bullet, but only to realize that said bullet was actually a heat-seeking missile and that _eventually_ it would have found me.

"You know you can't avoid _this_ forever, Alex... You'll need to face whatever it is troubling you, sooner or later."

She wasn't angry or upset by my behavior, and she wasn't pushing me to say something that I wasn't ready to do. The only thing that she showed as she looked at me, was the same concern and confusion, and I felt bad.

I felt bad because I wanted to tell her but at the same time I didn't feel ready to face this even if she was the person that I trusted most in the world.

The meaning behind her words was almost painful, but I knew she was right.

My questions were still floating around my mind, relentlessly, and I hadn't been able to find a solution to my problems yet.

...But maybe I had a chance to do something for Piper's.


	18. Chapter 18

Hi there!

It's pretty late here but I wanted to give you guys the new chapter... It's a long one by the way, hope you don't mind :D

Enjoy

* * *

"How long before he noticed about the zip?" Alex's deep voice was still filled with mirth from the last round of laughs after I told her about the latest embarassing moment that I had witnessed that same morning in class.

I started chuckling too as I recalled the scene. "He didn't... And now the whole class knows that he has a preference to wear red lace."

I watched the way her shoulders started shaking again as that same deep laugh left her lips; a sound that combined with the look of pure amusement on her beautiful face, stirred something inside of me every time.

"And how close were you exactly to notice the... _Preference_... of your professor's choice about underwears?" She asked lifting briefly one eyebrow at me as we kept walking down the tree lined path in the park, staying so very close as if we were both seeking for the warmth of the other under the slightly gray, clouded sky that had rended the day definitely more chilly respect the previous ones.

I had to replay her question in my head another time before I could offer her an answer.

"Unfortunately, I decided to sit right in front of the classroom. It seems to be the only way I can keep concentration, lately I've been..." I paused long enough until her eyes locked with mine before I finished my sentence with a faint blush coloring my cheeks.

"...quite distracted."

She understood immediately that I was referring to her; the way she tilted her head slightly to the side, smirking at me and lifting her perfectly sculpted eyebrows in mild surprise spoke louder than any word she could have said, and under that look I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, as if I had just revealed a bit too much.

"I mean..." I started to explain, trying, _hoping_ , that something, _anything_ , would have come up to me and didn't make me appear an awkward combination between shy and agitated in front of her. "I-It's a good distraction... It's just-"

The feeling of Alex's strong, warm hand slipping into mine in a gentle and delicate grip, interrupted my rambling and made me raise my gaze to meet her mystic green eyes that were shining behind black rimmed glasses.

We slowed down we until stopped walking and she shifted to stay just in front of me.

I could already feel my heart pounding forcefully in my chest, recognizing the look on her gorgeous features before she spoke, her tone soft, just loud enough to cover the sound of the tree leaves rustling in the autumn breeze.

"You know, it's happening to me too lately..." She paused and I felt as her thumb started drawing tiny circles on the back of my hand, such a simple gesture, but that combined with what I suspected she was confessing, had me incredibly excited for the sense of anticipation.

"A lot..." She continued taking a small step closer to me.

"Yeah?" I asked without even realizing it, too consumed by the effect that her close proximity and her distinctive scent were having on me.

"Yes..." She answered, never diverting her eyes from mine. And just when I was sure that her next move was to lean in and kiss me, her tender expression changed all of a sudden and she caught me completely off guard when with a pretty convincing nonchalant tone she said "It must be something in the air, some kind of flu probably."

As soon as I registered her words, the look of confusion and shock covered my features, just like the amused one on Alex's face did when she saw my reaction, and when I realized that she was just messing with me, I narrowed my eyes at her, doing my best to contain the smile that I could already feel forming on my lips from showing when she started chuckling.

I slapped her on the shoulder feign an offended, almost angry look, but that only made her laugh harder. "Very funny Al-"

But I didn't get a chance to finish what I was saying, because not even a second later, the raven haired woman closed the small distance between us and pressed her lips against mine.

My eyes fluttered shut.

And I melted immediately in her arms.

It was soft.

Delicate.

But secure at the same time.

Her hands came up to cup my cheeks in the same moment I parted my lips, allowing access to her silky tongue.

My heart fluttered wildly for the amount of tenderness and sweetness that I felt into that kiss, and I could only kiss her back with everything I had, mantaining it deliciously slow, and feeling exactly how every inch of my body reacted to her.

We pulled away only when the need for air became unbearable.

I kept my eyes closed, feeling as a new smile formed on my lips when I felt Alex nuzzling her nose against the side of mine for a brief second.

"You could have just kissed me... You know?" I whispered against her lips as I replayed in my head her little joke, opening my eyes and pulling back just in time to see the beginning of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"And pass up the chance to see that look on your face? Sorry kid, I just couldn't resist..." She confessed with a small chuckle before placing a soft conciliatory kiss on my cheekbone, something that made me grin under a new much more visible blush.

It was the first kiss that she had given to me that day, but it was so incredibly heart-felt and full of sentiment that the sensation settled inside of me for the rest of the day, making me desire for more of her, but enjoying immensely even the innocent moments that we shared that afternoon.

We decided to sit down on a bench in front of the lake, sharing a paper bag of warm, freshly made roasted chestnuts that Alex had bought just for me when she noticed that I was trying to warm up my cold hands; a gesture that for as simple as it had been from her, I had found incredibly sweet, but not as much as I found the almost imperceptible blush that colored her cheeks or the way she fiddled nervously with her glasses as I thanked her with a bright sincere smile and a small kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"I have something for you." Her voice caressed my ears like the light whisper of the wind and with the same sweetness of the honey, but what she said caught me a bit off guard and didn't fail in making me immediately curious.

I looked at her and at the new mysterious smirk on her irresistible lips.

"What is it?" I asked with a playful suspicious look on my face as I chewed the last chestnut that Alex had generously offered to me.

Her eyes were filled with amusement as she, without diverting her gaze from me, reached into her coat's inner pocket.

A moment later she pulled out something that looked like a rolled magazine, but only realizing what it really was when she handed it to me and I unfolded it, and in the moment I saw the front page I couldn't contain a confused chuckle.

"A comic?"

She nodded, clearing her throat softly before she offered me an answer to my confused question. "Yeah I know, they are not exactly my thing either but, I was thinking about your thesis and about your whole _Power To Women_ speech so..." She gestured to the front page of the comic where a masked woman was wearing a tight black costume and standing in a triumphant pose, and I couldn't help but feel as the smile on my face started to become a full grin as she continued. "You know, I thought about the whole female hero thing."

Maybe it was just my impression but it seemed that under the thick armor of confidence that she wore, a small chink had formed to let out the lightest hint of nervousness, something that was actually confirmed to me when I saw a tentative smile forming on her lips in the same moment that she diverted her gaze from mine.

My cheeks started to hurt for how wide my grin was, and even if I wanted to tell her that she had just given me a brilliant idea -that was the one to insert a form of art that I hadn't taken in consideration and that had introduced women, giving them the basis of the modern heroes figures in a world that was once only dominated by men, and where superpowers were not seen as practicing of witchcraft to hurt people, but to protect the citizens and bring justice in the city where they lived- I couldn't help but take just a moment longer to enjoy that look that I found so entertaining on her face; especially since it was the first time that I had the occasion to see it, and also because making her wait deliberately was a sort of small revenge for her previous little joke about the flu.

"Alright, I take it from your silence that it wasn't a good idea after all..." She said through a long sigh, and after hearing how suddenly uncertain her voice sounded when she said that, I couldn't stay silent anymore.

"You just gave me a fantastic idea, Alex. Thank you."

A look of sincere surprise crossed her features at my words. "Really?" But a second later, a new satisfied smirk appeared on her lips to show exactily how pleased she looked by my answer.

I just nodded unable to stop myself from leaning in towards her in the small bench.

"Really." I whispered, looking right into those deep green eyes before I pressed my lips to hers as delicately as I could.

She kissed me back just as softly, with no urgency, just a gentle brush of lips against the ones of the other.

It was so tender and full of so many emotions that it left me breathless.

My heart ached with sentiment for the woman whom had shown so much interest in me, so much gentleness and attentions towards me, that had me elated like I never felt before.

Trying to ignore the lump that formed in my throat and the way I felt my stomach clenching painfully with a sense of anguish as other less pleasant thoughts started floating around in my head, was near to impossible, but for as soft and dreamy that kiss was, it gave me the comfirmation that she was there, that all of this was real, just like it was the cold wind that made me shiver, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of comfort, reassurance and warmth that I found in her touch as she caressed my cheek while her other hand was holding me affectionately on my side.

When we parted, my eyes fluttered open just in time to see Alex's doing the same, but nothing would have prepared me for the intensity of the light I saw shining into them.

"Piper?"

My name left her lips in a soft whisper, and the tentativeness that I heard, started a new series of contrasting sensations inside of me.

"Yes?" I asked feeling as my heart started jumping right into my throat under that penetrating, yet slightly hesitant look.

"There is another thing that I wanted to give you."

Even if I registered her words, it was her suddenly serious, tentative tone that didn't fail in making me suddenly worried, just barely managing to keep my breaths under control while she took in a sip of air, biting her lips as if she was considering carefully her next words before she continued.

"I know, that you don't want my help..."

When I realized where the conversation was headed, I pulled back a little from her, diverting my gaze to look down at my hands in my lap so that she wouldn't have seen the way my eyes were already starting to glisten with tears.

But she kept going, her voice so incredibly soft and so full of tenderness that made the words she saying even more difficult for me to hear knowing which was the subject.

"And I respect your choice Piper, and I admire you strength and the fact that you want to do this on your own..." I bit down on my lower lip to keep it from tremble, but when I felt a gentle hand lifting slightly my chin, gently urging me to look up and meet her gaze, I complied with little resistance that disappeared as soon as I saw the sincerity of her words into her eyes.

"I admire your strength as much as I admire your passion, your incredible talent and..." She paused, sighing as the most caring smile appeared on her lips. "...every part of you that I have started to know in these few days I have spent with you."

The way she said those things didn't hold the smallest hint of uncertainty, and I felt my heart swell into my chest and a faint blush coloring my cheeks as she listed the traits that she admired in me.

"And I know that you belong in a place where you can stay in contact with your passion..."

I didn't know where she was headed with the last thing she said, but the sensations of anguish that I felt rising inside of me the night before as my thoughts about work found their way back into my head, started to grow inside me once again, and I was tempted to stop her, not wanting to face all of that just yet even if I knew that I couldn't ignore the matter for much longer.

But then, before I could speak and express my reluctance to have this conversation, I saw her pull out a small piece of paper from her wallet, looking at it as if she was considering what to do before she decided to hand it to me just a moment later.

The light frown on my face as my gaze shifted from Alex's to read the name on what I realized was actually a business card, turned into a look of utter confusion and then into one of shock when I immediately recognized the small logo and read the address of the Metropolitan Museum.

"Alex?" I looked up at her with wide eyes only to receive back a small smile from her before she explained.

"She's a friend of mine and I've... Talked to her about you, about your studies, your drawing skills and... Well, she is eager to meet you and to interview you for a job. At the Museum."

I looked down once again at the card resting in my now slightly trembling hand, opening and closing my mouth repeatedly like a fish, wanting to say something when I finally raised my gaze to meet Alex's, but not knowing what I should have said.

I couldn't believe that she had done this for me.

The fact that the previous morning she had asked me to let her help me, was just enough to feel the sentiment that was already beating in my heart for her, growing exponentially, but now, knowing that she had every intention not only to help me but to find me an occupation that involved my passion and everything I had worked so hard for in the last few years, made that sensation burst into my chest.

Alex and I had started to know each other only in the last few days, and even if I knew little to nothing about her, I knew what I was feeling and how she made me feel when I was with her.

She was still pratically a stranger, she had no reason to help me, yet, she had showed the support and encouragement that I had never received from the ones I thought cared about me the most in the world.

My passion and dream had costed me so much when I refused to walk the path that had been already chosen for me.

The escort job was always an high price, but compared to all the rest I had sacrificed, was the smallest one that I had to pay to study what I had always wanted, what I felt was my right and only way.

I had never regretted my choice, but the reminder of how much it had costed, had never stopped to follow me.

Sylvia and I had an agreement. Something that had me incredibly grateful towards her, but...

My gaze returned to Alex, to the look into her eyes and to the small, uncertain smile on her lips, and I replayed everything that we had shared in the last two days, feeling the connection that kept growing between us and that had reached an incredibly deep level a couple of nights previous and even a deeper one -even if less pleasant to talk about- the next morning.

I swallowed, hard, thinking how much all of this seemed such an improbable situation...

Yet, it was real.

But if in that moment Sylvia would have called me and asked me that I had an appointment with a client for the following night...

I felt my stomach clenching painfully with a sudden sense of anguish and preoccupation.

Even if my financial situation was still difficult, I knew that that thought wouldn't have been the first one on the list this time.

No.

I still needed the money. That was sure.

But the matter was no longer about just the money.

It was about something much more important.

I looked into the light that was starting to return into Alex's beautiful green eyes, and I had my comfirmation.

It was about something _priceless_.

A great part of me knew that I wouldn't have been able to accept to give my body to someone else, not after what had happened between Alex and me, not after the way she had cherished me and expressed wordlessly something that felt so unique and... _Pure_.

Just the thought of doing such thing with another person, made me feel sick.

Made me feel... _Dirty._

I met the tentative, hopeful look into Alex's eyes for a brief moment before she looked away, as if she had been caught doing something that she wasn't suppoused to do.

And when she fiddled with her glasses, pushing them up just a bit more on the bridge of her nose as if the lenses of her glasses would have shielded the emotion that I saw reflecting into those deep green pools even if for just a second, my heart fluttered, and an affectionate smile appeared on my lips.

Even if she had tried to cover it up, for as brief as that look that I saw flashing into her eyes had been, my decision was made in that instant.

I wanted her.

I wanted _this_.

I wanted... _us_.

And even if I didn't know how I would have approached the situation with Sylvia, I knew that I couldn't have masked what I felt and return to do that job as if nothing had changed in the last few days.

I couldn't ignore what my heart was screaming to me.

"I don't know what to say Alex..." I confessed, my throat costricting.

She gave me a small sincere smile, that for how small it showed exactly the reason because she wanted to help me so much.

"You don't have to say anything, Piper. Just... Consider it. Okay kid?" There was a hint of sadness in her voice but her question was filled with so much hope that made her eyes sparkle in the same way I saw them doing when we were under the bright warm sun rays on her sailing boat, even if in this moment there was no sun and we were under a gray, clouded sky.

I didn't make her wait a moment longer.

Her eyes shifted to look down in her lap when I took her hand in mine, only to return to me a moment later, just in time to see the smile I gave her through my teary eyes as I answered to her question. "I already have."

 **. . .**

I kissed her another time, deeply, as she kissed me back with the same eagerness and passion but pulling back before it could escalate into something that for how much I desired it, and for how much I felt my body screaming to feel hers pressed against mine, skin to skin with nothing separating us but a thin layer of sweat, I knew I couldn't have remained.

Reluctantly, I pulled back, hearing Piper's small whimper of protest.

"I have to go, kid." I whispered against her lips right before she started leaving small, soft kisses on the corner of my mouth nuzzling affectionately the side of my nose, something that made me chuckle and that almost made me give in when she begged me with a "Please, stay."

The words seemed to resonate in the empty hallway even if she had only whispered them as I pressed her gently against her front door.

"I can't..." I was unable to resist the urge to run my hands under her sweater, feeling warm inviting skin under my fingertips, enjoying the way her abdominal muscles twitched under my touch as she took in a sharp breath at the contact, releasing a delicious moan when I started playing, pulling teasingly at the waistband of her jeans.

"Duty calls. I'll probably stay away for a few days." I explained to her why I couldn't stay as I thought about the last few things that I still needed to do before leaving that night and head towards the last desolated destination where Nicky had been able to locate the target.

I pulled back enough to see her chewing nervously on her bottom lip before she asked in the most adorable way "Can we meet when you return?"

Another chuckle rumbled in my throat. "Of course." I answer before I leaned in with the intention to place one last peck on her cheek, but meeting a pair of thin but soft lips instead when at the last moment she turned her head, prolonging the kiss just for a few seconds longer.

Just the idea to leave, strangely enough, wasn't very appealing to me that day, and if I also added the thought about leaving Piper back, was almost enough to make me reconsider my plans.

But I needed to return to work.

"Alex?" She whispered as we both pulled back to look into each other eyes.

"Yes?"

The emotions that I saw swimming into those deep blue pools, sent a rush of warmth right into my chest, but that was nothing compared to the sensation that I felt when she said with a hesitant and almost pleading voice "Please... Be careful."

Even if she didn't know which exactly my profession was, she knew that my intent was the one to catch criminals and I told her that I was more similar to a cop instead of a prosecutor because my job was more about finding them physically.

She was a smart girl. And even with a few informations she had understood that my job was dangerous.

My heart started beating a bit faster when I saw the authentic concern in her eyes along with an emotion that I had noticed shining into them for the past few days, the one I knew was starting to show into mine too despite how much I tried to mask it.

"Don't worry about me kid... I'll be okay." I reassurred her with a wink and a confident smile, feeling as she pulled me against her for one last tender kiss before, reluctantly, releasing the hold she had around my shoulders.

We exchanged one last tender goodbye and then I watched her enter her apartment, staying there until I was sure that she had locked the door behind her before I left.

When I returned at home and entered into my hidden lab in the basement to prepare the few things I needed to bring with me before leaving, I did everything in auto pilot; followed the routine as I checked that the equipment worked as it should, cleaned and loaded my 9 mm that I had never used but that I brought along with me everytime just in case, and checked for the essential tools in the small survival kit.

"You don't have to go and do this if you don't feel like it, Alex."

Nicky's reassuring voice reached me from behind as I finished buttoning the pants of the Army uniform. "I know..." I said with a nod as I strapped my gun around my thigh, starting to feel my hands tremble and my heart beating forcefully, not for adrenaline as it usually did, but for something that I hadn't felt for a very long time and that I almost didn't recognize at first.

I was nervous.

I heard my friend taking a few steps closer as she continued. "It's in the middle of nowhere Al, and this guy seems to be just as dangerous as you are."

She had a point.

On the list of ten people that the agency had sent to me, I had deliberately chosen the one that had succeded in escaping every time or even killed every agent that got near him.

I didn't chose him because the price on his head was the highest; money had never been the reason for me to do this job... My purpose was something that couldn't have been valued.

But I needed to regain some of the control that I felt slipping from my hands lately, and the best way to do it, was to jump into the deepest and most dangerous waters, knowing that I needed to swim, be as careful as I could, use every trick I knew, to not end up eaten by the sharks.

But after hearing Nicky's warning about my target, I couldn't help but chuckle even if the feeling of anxiety inside of me kept growing.

The last thing I wanted was to show it and worry my friend; humor was a good way to reassure her almost all the times.

"I don't know if I should be offended for you thinking so little of me, or being flattered by your comment since you have just compared me to a former CIA agent who has decided to support a group of terrorists."

As I laced my combat boots, I heard her sigh deeply, not sounding amused at all by my joke. "I'm serious Alex. At least... Let me come with you this time."

At that I turned back to face her, the amusement completely gone from my face as I looked at her with steel in my eyes.

"No Nicky."

She crossed her arms over her chest looking at me as hard as I was.

"You forget that I was an agent too, I have been trained too. _Actually_ , it was _you_ the one whom have trained me... _Boss._ "

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as she continued, hearing how much her voice softened after just a brief pause.

"...I just... Don't want something to happen to you sister. You have never been so distant and right in the middle of nowhere before."

Her big dark eyes were pleading me and in front of the look of authentic, deep concern on my friend's face, I felt a smile tugging at my lips; knowing that she was always there looking out for me and worried about me, was something that warmed me from the inside.

She had always showed concern everytime I had to go for a mission, but this time, that particular look, had turned into one that I had seen so many years before. And what she said next, brought me back into those distant times that for how much I tried not to be dragged into them, there was no way I could avoid it, feeling as the never completely healed wound on my soul opened once again to bleed some more.

"I have made a promise to your mom, Alex..."

Trying to keep the tears from forming in my eyes was pointless, as it was try to swallow down the same old lump that formed in my throat everytime that particular, still very sensitive, incredibly painful subject was brought up.

I lowered my gaze, tilting my head down, trying in vain to shield my teary eyes from Nicky, but unable to do anything when a single tear escaped and left a glistening, salty trail on my cheek.

The feeling of Nicky's hand on my forearm was enough to make me loosen my clenched fist, but her words did little to comfort me.

"I've stopped a long time ago to try to convince you that what happened wasn't your fault Alex-"

As if she was probably expecting, I snorted angrily, closing my eyes and shaking my head, but I let her finish anyway.

"...But you can't stop me from watching your back, or blaming me for doing it even if we don't work together on the field anymore."

When her hand reached my shoulder and gave me a comforting squeeze, my eyes fluttered open and I saw her holding up my old bullet proof vest; something that I had never used during my hunts.

"Please Alex."

I swallowed, this time succeeding in getting rid of that persistent sensation as I wiped away the tear that had escaped using the back of my hand, nodding in consent before I let Nicky help me with the vest.

I appreciated Nicky's sisterly concern for me, it made me feel incredibly lucky that I still had her in my life, that I still had some one that worried so much about me; and that is why I couldn't allow her to come with me for any reason.

I would have _never_ forgiven myself if something would have happened to her too.

Nicky wasn't the only one to have made a promise...

"There." She said satisfied, winking at me after she had fixed the last strap of my vest.

"You know, you look kinda hot in an army uniform."

I couldn't helt but burst out laughing immediately at that comment.

 _Thank you Nicky. Thank you for always finding a way to make me feel better, my friend._

She chuckled too, and I felt the air around us becoming comfortable once again, helping me in slowing down my heart and in relaxing my nerves as I thought about the new upcoming hunt.

"You know what to do if you need to contact me, right? And you have the codes to contact the emergency helicopter along with the coordinates."

I nodded at her as I checked one last time all the datas on the portable electronic device donated by the Agency and that Nicky had programmed specifically to help me during my missions.

Everything was ready, but I didn't feel as eager and as preparared to go as I usually was every other time. The sensations inside of me didn't match one bit the usual vivid, hungry ones I was used to feel, but I needed to go.

I needed to do this.

It was my job...

"Try to come back soon kid, there's the opening of the resort in Colorado next week and I have every intention to kick your ass on the ski slope this year."

I couldn't help but chuckle at Nicky's suggestion that didn't fail in making me consider seriously the idea to take a few days and do something that both me and my friend enjoyed very much.

"You could bring your _mysterious girl_ too, I bet she would like the lodge you have there..."

Trying to suppress the smile that started to form on my lips as soon as Nicky mentioned, with a suggestive lift of her eyebrows, the young woman whom was always in my thoughts lately, was pointless, as it was to impede my heart from starting to beat faster.

I was brought back to a few hours previous, when we were in the park and she had accepted the possibility that I had offered to her.

"Maybe you'll even decide to introduce her to me sooner or later, who knows..." Nicky's pretended nonchalant tone made me chuckle even more, and I couldn't resist the temptation this time to reveal something.

"Actually, I think you have already met her." I confessed, enjoying how taken aback she looked after my unexpected statement.

"Really?" She asked confused, furrowing her eyebrows, and I could see the wheels turning in her head as she rummaged in her latest memories.

I only nodded, amusement covering my whole face.

She just hadn't met the woman that I had started to know, the real one whose effect on me was way beyond the simple lust and desire, beyond the simple needs and craves of my body.

"And you were right..." I admitted, feeling the way my chest swelled and my heart fluttered as another wave of warmth pervaded me when I thought about the last conversation I had with my friend.

"About what?" She asked half absently, still absorbed in her thoughts and hypothesis about whom the young woman I was seeing could be.

The moment wasn't the best, I knew it, but this time I didn't hesitate, I didn't stop to consider my words and I didn't show any kind of reluctance when with a soft whisper I finally let out and revealed what I felt; the persistent emotion that I could no longer ignore for how much its presence kept growing inside my chest.

Nicky had seen it even before I confessed it, but only in that moment, only when the words left my lips I realized exactly how deep and unique that sentiment was.

"I think I'm falling for her."


	19. Chapter 19

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the short delay guys, but I'm back with a new longer chapter for you :) And this one is very, _very_ long.

I think I should also warn you, but... I don't want to spoil you all the fun :) Just hold tight for the ride guys ;)

Enjoy

* * *

I ran a hand through my slightly damp hair as I checked my phone for what seemed the tenth time in the last hour, letting out a small concerned sigh when I saw that I had no new messages waiting to be read or missed calls.

Three days.

Three days had passed since that afternoon, when Alex had accompanied me at home and kissed me so deeply that I felt my knees going weak before she left, and the fact that I hadn't heard nothing from her since that moment, had me more than a bit worried.

I hadn't tried to contact her; I knew she was working, hoping that she was somewhere safe, and even if I didn't know where she was, part of her was always following me whenever I went; especially in that moment as I waited, sit on the sofa of the Agency, waiting for Sylvia to receive me.

I let out another sigh, my leg kept boucing up and down nervously, feeling as another chilly shiver crawled up my spine while I tried to dry and warm up my still wet and frozen hands, hearing as another loud thunder resonated in the distance while the rain kept coming down hard.

The cold drops of water and the freezing wind seemed to have penetrated deep into my flesh and settled comfortably right into my bones even under the different layers of clothes I was wearing beneath my drenched coat, and the sensation, combined with the reason because I was there in the Agency and with my constantly concerned thoughts about Alex, did nothing to soothe my nerves.

I didn't wait to call Alex's friend, Miss Holmes, or as she had asked me to call her, Jamie; thrilled by the fact that she wanted to interview me in a couple of days, but before I could accept the possible job that she wanted to interview me for, _if_ I would have been found suitable for the position, I needed to do things right and explain a few things to Sylvia first.

After all, part of me felt like I owned something to her; she was the one whom had... _helped me_... when I was in a very bad, very troubling financial situation.

I still was, actually. It wasn't so desperate as it were almost seven months previous, but I still needed to repay the debts I had with the College. I could have actually considered a new more _honest_ part time job, but I knew that it would have taken a longer time to get the money I needed, and even if the situation hadn't changed, if it wasn't for Alex or for her thoughtful gesture to recommend me to a friend, I don't think I would have taken so seriously in consideration the idea that had been floating around in my head almost every day and for such a long time; the one to actually leave the escort job.

The sound of Sylvia's office door being opened, snapped me back from my thoughts, making me raise my head in automatic, just in time to see my _boss_ appear on the doorway and notice the trademark smirk that tugged at the redhead's lips as soon as she recognized me sitting on the corner of the sofa in the quiet and dimly lit hallway.

"Well, look who's here... Hey there, sweetness."

Like any other time, her greeting and that particular, almost seductive smirk, didn't fail in making me blush a little.

"Hi Sylvia..." I greeted her back with a small smile as I stood up from the sofa.

"Look at you! You are soaked, sweet thing." She said looking at my still slightly damp hair and to the large wet patches on my coat before she gestured for me to come into her office, closing the door behind us with a soft thud.

"Can I get you a coffee or something to warm you up?" She asked me with a small frown of a concern that I didn't know if it was authentic but that looked pretty sincere to me in that moment; she didn't have a reason to fake it but part of me couldn't help but feel suspicious when I was in her presence, even if with me she had been nothing but gentle and pretty friendly since the moment she spotted me in that resturant and used her charm on me, but maybe that was the reason because I felt suspicious in the first place; for all the rest, Sylvia was actually a pleasant person to have around.

I shook my head as I squeezed my fingers, trying to regain some of the sensibility that was still missing especially on the tips despite the comforting warmth that I had found as soon as I stepped into the studio. "No thank you, I'm fine."

She gave me a strange look after she noticed the way I was still massaging my hands, but thankfully, didn't insist.

"Alright..." She said as she lead me further into her office; the click clack of her high heels on the hard wood floor echoed in the room just like my heart was starting to do in my chest, feeling it jumping into my throat for the nervousness.

"You know," She started as soon as she reached her desk, gesturing for me to take a seat on the chair in front of it before she did the same across from me. "I was actually considering to call you, Piper."

As soon as I registered her words my head snapped up to meet her gaze and my heart started beating so fast that I was sure it could be audible in the vast office even above the violent sound of the rain hitting the large windows.

My throat went suddenly dry and the look on my face, along with my prolonged silence, made Sylvia both confused and suspicious, if the crease that had appeared between her eyebrows was any indication, but she continued anyway, her tone gentle but always professional; straight to the point.

As usual.

And to think that I was the one whom came here to talk to her; now the role were reversed and I knew that what she was going to say wasn't going to be something that would have pleased me given what I needed to tell her; the reason that had me come to this conclusion after the latest events...

After all that had happened with Alex...

After all that _was happening_ _between me and Alex._.

But if Sylvia was considering to call me, it only meant one thing.

She wanted me for an assignment.

The idea was enough to send a rush of anguish and nervousness inside me that turned my stomach upside down, and of course my boss noticed immediately the look that had appeared on my face as soon as she said that she wanted to call me.

I didn't want to show too much in front of her, but it was a reaction that I couldn't control or mask, just like I couldn't control the way my heart had started beating so much faster when she tilted her head to the side and leaning back in her chair she said

"But... I think that maybe it's the case that I ask you first to what do I have the honor to have you here today."

It should have made me feel better; I thought I had the speech memorized and ready in my head, but the words seemed to have suddenly disappeared, leaving me in front of her with a nervous expression and a dry throat.

There was no way around it, and the more I waited the more difficult it would have been for me to find the courage I needed to do this.

I took a slow deep breath in through my nose, closed my eyes for a only a brief second, and when I looked up once again and met Sylvia's patient, yet expectant look, I tried to ignore every sensations that was running inside of me in order to say what I came here for.

"I-I..." I had to clear my throat softly, but after I did, my voice sounded more controlled and confident when I spoke. "I came here because I wanted to discuss our... _Agreement._ "

I mantained my eyes locked with silver ones, feeling as the nervousness started to return to me with a vengeance, but trying to keep it under control with all my strenght in the moment of silence that followed.

"I see..." Was what the redhead said, nodding as she leaned back in her chair once again, slowly crossing one long toned leg over the other. "So I take it that you have finished to pay for your studies."

She assumed, giving me this small smile that I didn't know how I should have interpreted but that I knew couldn't be completely sincere; after all, I was pratically saying that I was leaving her. And she knew it.

I shook my head looking down briefly at my hands when that piercing gaze became too hard to mantain. "Not exactly... But I'm very clos-"

As I was expecting she interrupted me. "I thought we had a deal Piper, one that I had made with you because of the situation you were in..." She raised from her chair and circled her desk to sit on the edge of it, right in front of me before she continued.

It was a strategy, she didn't mean to intimidate me or anything like that, but it was one of her ways to make me feel nervous and spill everything out. But I couldn't permit my lack of steely nerves to have the better on me this time.

"...You finished to pay for your studies and then our _collaboration_ would have been over." She concluded, remembering me our initial agreement.

She couldn't force me to do this job. I didn't have signed a contract or anything like that; the agreement we had was just between Sylvia and I.

I didn't know how I could have come out from all of this; I could have simply explained that I didn't feel like doing it anymore, or lie and say that I had found a new job, that my debts were completely repaid, but the words slipped from my lips before I could think twice about it, and without revealing any detail, I simply decided to admit out loud what had changed and why I didn't feel like doing this job anymore.

"I've met someone..." My voice sounded so small and hesitant when I spoke, that it was barely above a whisper, but at the same time I could almost hear the way it resonated around us before a deafening silence fell.

The tension was bubbling up inside me and when I couldn't take it anymore and looked up to meet Sylvia's gaze, the last thing that I was expecting to see on her face, was a smile.

An authentic, sincere smile.

It actually caught me so off guard that I had to blink a few times to be sure that I wasn't just imagining it, but everytime my eyes opened again, the same kind and warm expression was always there on her face.

"Now I understand." She said softly with a nod. "Well, I can't say that I'm surprised sweetness, you are young, smart, tall, blonde... A real catch." Hearing her list those traits about me, combined with the wink that she gave me, warmed my cheeks even more with a furious blush.

"It was nothing I have planned, believe me... It just... Happened." I said, strangely feeling like I owned her an explaination.

She shook her head and gave me a lopsided smile before a distant look covered her features, even if just for a second. "It's not something you ever plan, Piper."

The expression on her face, for as brief as it was, had me wonder if maybe she wasn't actually referring to herself, but before I could come up with an answer, that look was gone, and replaced by her usual business-face, but that showed the same understanding that she had just expressed.

She was right. It definitely wasn't something that I had planned or even something I was looking for. But it happened.

And it happened with a _client_.

If only Sylvia knew what a great part she had played in all of this...

"Anyway, I can't force you to work against your will; to stay here and work for me has been your choice from the beginning, Piper. I don't own you, or your body... For as pretty as it is." She concluded with another small smirk.

I wasn't expecting Sylvia to be so... _Understanding_.

A great part of me was deeply afraid that she would have been incredibly mad at me for the decision I had come up with; but Sylvia was a buisness woman and the one between us was a business deal that I made clear since the beginning.

She wasn't a pimp or a criminal running a ruthless prostitution ring.

The ones whom worked for her Agency were there because they wanted to. Most of them remained for the money, and not because they desperately needed them just like I did, but because they wanted a much more comfortable life, and the price to have it didn't seem so high for most of them.

I just wanted to graduate.

And now, I wanted Alex just as much.

But the way my heart kept fluttering in my chest proved me wrong.

Maybe I wanted Alex even more...

Trying to suppress the smile that was already tugging at my lips was hard, but I managed to mask it before Sylvia could see it.

"However," She continued as she leaned in from the edge of the desk to return to sit on her chair behind it where she was sitting before. "The reason because I wanted to call you, was because I wanted to offer you a new assignment as you were probably suspecting."

I opened my mouth with the intention to interrupt her and repeat what I had just said, but she stopped me, holding up her hand.

"I know, but it's _not_ one of those appointments, don't worry."

I furrowed my eyebrows, tilting my head slightly to the side as she paused for a moment longer to considered her words before she explained.

"Let's made a new deal okay? There is this big gala night that is being planned as we speak, and someone asked me to _provide_ a few boys and girls just for the evening, _only_ to escort, nothing else. And since they required the most attractive and smart ones, the first one I thought about for this job was you, since you certainly have the most beautiful mind I ever had the pleasure to deal with."

She smirked at me, and even if I knew she was trying to charm me and get me to accept this new assignment, I couldn't help but feel flattered by her words.

She leaned back against her chair, looking at me patentietly as I chewed my bottom lip, considered the offer she had just made.

It would have been simple.

I didn't have to _entertain_ someone in the _usual_ _way_ , but I just had to play the part of a guest in a party.

It wasn't the first time that someone asked just my company for an event to make look good the person I was with in front of other people, but in six months I could have counted the times such occasions actually happened on one hand and still have a few fingers left.

I found myself nodding. At first it was only half absently, but then I became more convinced until I gave her a proper answer.

"If it's _all_ that they ask for the evening, then okay. When is it?"

Sylvia grinned at me.

"I knew I could count on you for this sweetness, and don't worry, a few others of my boys and girls will be there too. I'll call you in a few days to give you all the details."

I nodded, giving her a small smile. "Okay."

I raised from my seat watching as she was already getting started to get back to work and in that moment, as for the first time I felt a wave of relief settling inside of me when I took the first breath after what I was sure would have ended up like a disastrous encounter, an old question bounced in my head, the one that had been there since the first moment that I had accepted to work for Sylvia.

I knew that she didn't treat all her _employees_ like she had treated me, with all the special favors and giving me the most simple assignments whenever she could; I knew she didn't do it only because I was the youngest, or the more _unexperienced_ , and part of me was curious to know why she had accepted me in the first place when she saw me waiting tables in the small resturant around the corner all those months ago.

And before I could even reconsider and think twice about what I was asking, the words were already slipping from my lips in a gentle, tentative question.

"Why have you helped me even if you knew from the beginning that I wouldn't have stayed?"

I watched as she raised her head from her agenda, looking a bit taken aback by what I had just asked, but as soon as she recovered I saw a small, sad smile appear on her lips before she answered in what I thought was the most honest and human tone I ever had occasion to hear coming from her.

"Let's just say that I had a lot in common with you, and had been in a _very_ similar situation when I was your age. And that if someone would have offered me the same choice... Maybe today I wouldn't be here."

Disappointment, defeat and just a barely perceptible hint of sadness was audible in her voice as she gave me a very enigmatic answer.

I didn't know if she was referring to the studies situation or the family's one that I had barely mentioned to her, or maybe even both. All I knew was that I wasn't expecting that kind of answer, that didn't fail in raising even more questions inside of me as once again I found myself wondering whom this woman was once.

But I had already asked more than what I knew were not my business, and the only thing that I had left to say was just one, and it was deeply sincere.

"Thank you Sylvia."

She gave me another small smile in return.

"You're welcome. Best wishes for your studies, Piper." Her voice was gentle and her eyes were honest as she said that, and not even a moment later, she was once again deep into work.

As I exited her office and made my way downstairs to the entrance on the ground floor of the studio, I allowed myself to feel that sense of relief to fill me more and more.

I felt like an incredibly heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders, even if at the same time it made me a bit worried knowing that I still needed a job, _hoping_ that the interview that I had scheduled for the following day would have gone well; but the elating sensation and overwhelming sense of relief that I felt in that moment, were much more powerful respect the other troubling ones that had to do with my financial situation.

I had a full smile on my face, and my heart was leaping for joy.

The first person that I thought about as I exited the Agency and covered myself from the pouring rain with the hood of my coat before deciding against taking the subway and gesturing to a passing cab, was Alex.

I wanted to hear her deep voice caressing my ear.

Her amused chuckle rumbling in her throat.

But most of all... I wanted to feel her, and to have her close to me.

I recited my address to the driver as soon as I got into the cab, pulling out my phone from the pocket of my jeans, but only in that moment, when I was met once again with a blank screen with no messages or missed calls, reality came back to me and a much deeper concern settled inside of me, dominating all the lively, relieving emotions that I was experiencing just a few moments before.

The smile on my face was wiped away, and was replaced with a look of deep concern as I looked outside the window, watching as the city passed in front of me while the rain kept coming down without mercy.

I didn't want to call her and disturb her as she... _worked_... not knowing how busy she was or even what she was exactly doing. But I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her, just like in any other moment of the day.

I looked down at my phone as I considered what to do, and then I decided.

 _I hope everything is okay... I miss you. P-_

A text. Simple. Yet it expressed my worries and the fact that I was thinking about her.

I reread the message another time before I pressed send and put my phone away.

I really missed her. I missed her since the moment I entered my apartment three days previous actually.

My gaze returned to look outside the window and a new shiver ran up my spine when I noticed the dark intimidating clouds that had formed, and the distant lightning that had just flashed across the sky.

I swallowed hard as I wrapped my arms around myself.

 _I hope you are somewhere warm, Alex. I hope you are somewhere safe..._

 **. . .**

I was freezing.

The temperature had dropped drastically during the afternoon, and that certainly didn't make things very comfortable for a stakeout in such a place.

Surrounding me there was nothing but hectares of woods and mountains.

I was miles and miles away from any sign of civilization except for the log cabin of the forest ranger resting in front of the small lake about an hundred feet from my current position.

Nicky was right.

Apparently this guy had found a very secluded job as a ranger, faking another name to operate in complete isolation where no one would have ever distrurbed him, and I was ready to bet that all the informations I needed, were somewhere right into that cabin.

I just had to wait.

I could have circumvent the lake, sneaked into the house and searched for the informations that the Agency was looking for.

But I needed to respect the orders.

Kill the target.

Get the informations.

Get back to the rendezvous point; which was almost half day of walk into the woods from where I was.

I checked for the quality of the signal of the radio in case I needed to contact the emergency support, and I wasn't so surprised to see that it was incredibly weak; probably because I was right in the middle of the woods.

The sun was setting and the stars were just starting to show on a sky that was still a light blue.

I took just a second longer to enjoy that moment before I decided to wear the night visor, feeling a smile tugging at my lips when I remembered the last time I had witnessed such a beatutiful sight; it wasn't much about the sunset itself, but more about a certain young blonde woman whom presence was always there on the back of my mind.

I shifted in my position another time, frowning as I tried to fix the vest that Nicky had insisted for me to put on and that I was wearing under the uniform, feeling as one plate, didn't matter which position I chosed to stay, remained always pressed under my left breast.

It was becoming so much uncomfortable that I was considering to just take it off, already sending a silent apologie to Nicky, but then, above the noises of the forest, above the sounds of the small animals that moved around me and the whistle of the cold wind through the trees, a distant, unmistikable sound caught my attention.

My head snapped up, and through the night visor strapped on my head, I saw an old jeep appearing from the dirt road on the east side and parking right beside the cabin.

I felt my heart starting to beat faster, louder, and my hands trembling a bit more as drops of sweat, despite the very cold temperature, gathered on my forehead.

It wasn't the first time in the past two days that I felt all those sensation mixing together, making me loose my concentration and testing my leggendary control even before I arrived at the right location.

It was something that I wasn't used to feel; the nervousness. That sense of anticipation that didn't match one bit the one I had always experienced during all my previous hunts.

Adrenaline made me alert, excited but cautious, it made my hands itch and pulled out my claws and fangs, ready to dig them into the flesh of my prey, ready to fill my nostril with the scent and savor the metallic taste of the blood on my tongue, craving to see the look into their eyes as life faded away from them; something that I had witnessed just once, because any other time, no one had _ever_ seen me approaching.

I was a ghost.

The angel of death.

Silent.

And invisible.

I set the zoom on the binoculars and waited long enough to see my target exiting from the jeep, wearing the ranger uniform and carrying a shotgun over his shoulder and what seemed to be a laptop under his arm before he made his way inside the cabin, only to exit not even a minute later after having deposited the gun and laptop, and going towards the back of the house where there was a wooden canopy and a log pile resting under a waterproof cover.

That was enough for me.

He was alone.

And beside the shotgun that he had left inside and which I suspected shoot just tranquillizers for the animals that lived in this area, he didn't seem to carry other weapons with him, and even if he did, he wouldn't have the occasion to use them.

I knew he was dangerous, and that he certainly didn't need weapons; Nicky was right when she warned me about this guy, his dossier and lists of missions as a former CIA agents were as thick as a telephone book.

But so were mine.

I didn't study every particular in his file.

I knew what I needed to know. And I didn't need to know all the horrible things he had done to deserve this end.

If I would have found something that he had committed in his past, something that would made the blood boil in my veins and cloud my mind with rage from the objective I had, then it would have changed the whole situation for me.

When things become personal, it's more simple to commit errors; being lead by anger, sense of revenge, pain...

I knew it well enough.

Because I had experienced those emotions too. I felt them growing inside of me, being possessed by them, incarnated the deepest and darker sense of revenge that no human being had ever known before.

Only to realize that if I wanted to succeed in my intent, I had to bury them deep down.

Those were dangerous emotions to feel and to have to deal with when you needed to prepare for something that required precision, a clear mind, and rivers of ice replacing every vein in your body so that it would have made you numb to anything else.

But that evening, as I circumvented the small quiet lake remaining in the shadows, making my way where I had spotted my target, moving silently, as if I was a part of that same forest myself, the sensations that I could feel growing inside of me, were something that were getting in the way of my duty.

Doubts.

There were so many that were making me think too much when instead I just had to act.

The thoughts made me weak.

I had no reason to feel so nervous, anxious, so... uncertain.

I had done this countless times, and I succeeded _every_ time.

I slowed down until I stopped hidden in a shadow, not distant form my target as he kept gathering logs of wood, looking down and frowing as I thought about what could possibly have changed.

The answer was whispered in my ear by the wind. Soft, a delicate caress. Smooth, resembling a very familiar voice that started calling me from my memories.

My chest constricted and I had to force myself to take a breath.

I knew that voice.

A recent memory flashed in front of me under the black and green background of the night visor I was wearing.

And then I knew.

At last, I understood why I felt like this.

My thoughts brought me to the reason because lately I felt all those old sensations that I thought had sunk down into a dark, cold abyss, resurface to warm and reclaim places in my heart that had been abbandoned.

Another smile tugged at my lips for a second as my throat tightened to hold back the tears.

I knew why this time not only it felt different, but _was_ so different for me respect all the others. And it was because this time, in case something would have gone wrong, I _had_ something to lose.

That dark thought was enough to make me reconsider all of this.

But I couldn't...

Under my fears and my sudden unexpected unsecurities, I knew I couldn't let this prey live a minute longer.

I clenched my jaw.

Watched as he kept gathering wood in his arms possibly for the fireplace inside, and I took in a deep, silent, but trembling breath, clenching my fists to not feel them shaking before I pulled away the night visor, silently lacing the straps on the loop of my pants before I finally exited from the shadows.

It took me a moment to get used to the new weak light offered by the early evening and by the large moon that was starting to shine in the sky, providing just enough illumination, and a second later I was ready. I pulled out the wire from my garrotte watch as I took a couple of steps closer.

I was right behind him and still he hadn't noticed anything.

 _I can turn and leave..._

The thought crossed my mind right in that moment, and just when I raised my hands and was to the point to wrap the sharp wire around his neck...

I hesitated.

Without meaning to, I took a small step back and a dry twig snapped loudly under my boot.

It was all it took.

And for the first time, my prey heard my presence.

I heard the sound of the logs dropping onto the ground, but all the rest happened so fast that I didn't register seeing him pulling something out from his cargo pants and I didn't see him turning slightly to the side.

But I felt every second of when the serrated hunting knife cut the material of my uniform, broke my skin and every inch of the long, cold, icy blade dug deep into the flesh of my leg.

The scream that left my throat didn't reach my ears but burned my lungs as the intensity of the pain sunk deep into my skull and pierced every nerve of my body, making me stumble of my feet before the pain forced me on the ground.

He was on top of me before I could even try to take a breath, wrapping his hand tightly around my throat.

His face right in front of mine.

His features sharp and his eyes cold and wicked even in the dark.

"Who sends you?!" He demanded angrily, before getting a hold on the hilt of the knife that was still embedded deep in my leg.

"Fuck you." I hissed; trying to fight him in this position was impossible in my condition, but I was impressed that through the pain that was shattering me from the inside I still managed not only to speak, but to make it sound even intimidating.

Except that that one was not the answer he was looking for, and I had to pay for that.

Another deafening scream burned my throat as it left my lips, feeling as my eyes filled with tears for the soul shattering pain that I felt coursing through my veins when with a swift movement he twisted the blade resting deep into my flesh.

"Wrong answer."

My heart was beating so fast and so forcefully that I was sure it would have burst into my chest in any moment.

"I will ask you again bitch, and believe me, you better give me a proper answer this time."

The threat in his voice was authentic but I couldn't permit him to get a hold on my control.

In that position and in the partial dark, he couldn't see my other hand and in the rush of the moment he hadn't noticed the gun that I had strapped to my thigh.

"Last chance. Who sent you here?" The hold around my neck was so tight that I couldn't breath and I started to feel lightheaded.

But with the last drop of strenght that I had left, in a split second, I reached my hand out and tightened the grip on my gun before pointing it at his side before he could even blink.

"Lady Justice came to collect your debt." I said through gritted teeth.

I saw realization flashing in his eyes, but it was too late.

A second later, I shoot.

Twice.

The sound of the gun going off echoed in the surrounding woods like two loud, boisterous thunders.

The hold around my neck loosened immediately and the force of the bullets made him roll on the side from on top of me.

Dead.

The ringing in my ears from the shots didn't make it possible from me to hear my coughs and agitated breaths as I tried to sit up, and not even the new much louder scream that left my throat when I succeded and the blade in my leg dug in deeper, enough to feel the tip piercing the skin and exiting from the back of my thigh.

My hand flew immediately on the wound, and I had to fight against every fiber of my being not to follow my instict and pull out the knife; it was probably the only thing that was keeping me from bleed out completely.

I could feel the warmth leaving my body as the blood seeping out of the wound at an alarming quantity, and when I looked down, even in the darkness, under the weak blue light of the early evening and the brighter one offered by the full moon, I could see the massive dark patch that had formed and was covering almost the entire lenght of my pants and that was reaching my boot.

When I withdrew my hand, it was slick and completely covered in blood.

I started to tremble and I knew that the new surge of cold that I felt or the fact that I was starting to loose sensibility at the extremities of my body wasn't because of the cold weather.

"Fuck..."

I was bleeding out.

"Fuck."

An impressive flood of blood was leaving my body with every passing second.

"Fuck!"

I needed to do something. And I needed to do it fast.

With trembling hands I unbuckled my belt, feeling it slipping from my grasp more than once for how much blood was covering my hands, but I managed to wrap it around my thigh, just a few inches above where the knife was still embedded, and after taking in two fast deep breaths, I pulled as far as the other extremity could go.

This time I couldn't contain the tears that started running down my cheeks freely as a new earsplitting cry left me breathless. The movement, the agony I felt stabbing every nerve of my body, exhausted me and I fell back onto the ground.

The eyes without life of my target starred back at me.

 _Dangerous my ass_ , I couldn't help but think to myself even in that critical moment, as I recalled Nicky's warning about this guy.

But if it wouldn't have been for the dark and for the fact that he hadn't noticed the gun strapped to my thigh, I would have been dead.

If only I hand't hesitated for that fucking miserable second.

But I did, and for the first time in five years, I had reconsidered my actions.

The informations, the data, everything about the rest of the mission was pushed aside in a blink.

I had no equipment to take care of such an extensive injury, so again, that evening I found myself doing another thing that I had never done before.

But I had no choice.

I reached for the radio that was hooked at my side, fighting against unconsciousness that was ready to claim me at any moment, and when I finally brought it up and turned it on...

I was met with silence.

No signal.

Nothing.

My shoulders started to shake and a sound that was between a sob and a laugh left my lips.

Nicky's words echoed from our last conversation as in a reminder of a warning.

I was in the middle of nowhere and the signal was gone.

I tried to move, just enough to search into the pockets of the dead target beside me for something I could use, but my body didn't allow me to.

I started to shake uncontrollably for the cold, I felt dizzy and my vision was starting to become blurry.

I had lost too much blood.

I was too weak.

But in the moment I raised my head from my empty search, in a fortunate moment of lucidity, something caught my attention.

I barely managed to retire the night visor that I still had laced around the loop of my pants and bring the binoculars in front of me, and then I saw it.

After the first time I saw one of those devices, it was impossible not to recognize it.

I could still remember clearly the first time I met Nicky at the Bureau, and I remembered the small box that she was holding and that I had wrongly recognized as a bomb, but that turned out being something else...

The same thing that I was looking at in that same moment and that was somehow hooked to the upper corner of the wooden canopy that cover of the log pile.

 _He hand't come here just for the wood logs._ I thought. _He had probably switched the device on too._

The bastard had fabricated an home made jammer for his illegal business, and hid it behind the Ranger house to block and interfere with all the communications. That was the reason why my radio had lost the signal.

Once again I reached for my gun; the black 9mm Beretta that I had never used, if not for practicing, and that that night had probably saved my life, hoping, that it would have helped me just another time.

I put the night visor back on, zooming up on the box with the six different antenna and I pointed the gun at it, and then I shoot. But my hand, along with my whole body was trembling so hard that I couldn't aim at the target properly.

I let out a frustrated, desperated groan before I tried again, but this time the bullet hit the ground.

My vision was becoming more and more blurry, I was shaking so hard that I couldn't even control my own breathing anymore and I could no longer feel my fingertips or my toes.

But then, maybe it was the unconsciousness that was calling me or an allucination caused from the massive loss of blood, but as I closed my eyes for just a second, shaking my head and trying to clear my blurry and unfocused vision, a young, beautiful, smiling face appeared in front of me.

A lump formed in my throat.

And my heart shattered in my chest.

I wanted to see that face, those eyes, that smile again more than anything.

I wanted to see the light into those deep blue eyes and see the reflection of the emotion that I felt and that I hadn't confessed to her.

I couldn't die.

Not like this.

Not when I finally had a reason to return...

In that moment, I summoned a strenght that I didn't know I possessed, and when my eyes opened once again, I clenched my jaw, taking in a long steady breath, used my other hand to keep the gun still and then, as I released the air from my lungs, I pulled the trigger.

This time, the bullet hit the small box of the jammer, making it burst, and I allowed myself to fall back onto the ground, pulling away the night visor as I reached for the radio at my side and waited...

I didn't know how long it would have taken for the communication to get reactivated.

And I didn't know how much longer I could keep fighting against myself to remain awake.

I could no longer feel my arms or my legs till my knees.

But the pain was still agonizing.

My heart beats were becoming irregular and every sip of air that I managed to take into my lungs left me unsatisfied and thirsty for more.

With my trembling hand I get an hold on the radio and pressed on the button to communicate, but I was still met with silence.

My eyelids were becoming heavy, my heart was slowing down, and all I wanted to do was just give in and close my eyes.

In a moment of lucidity, I felt tears streaming down the side of my face as I listened to the soothing sound of the rippling water on the lake, turning my head to look up at the sky, to look at the millions of stars that were shining like dust of diamonds on dark blue velvet.

I thought about my mom.

I thought about Nicky.

And then, I thought about Piper.

A smile tugged at my lips as images of the moments we had spent together flashed in front of me, only to be interrupted when the cold wind blew accross my face and a distant sound tried to call me from my fall into the void, like an enormous dragonfly hovering one hundred feet above my head.

Behind my closed eyelids I suddenly saw an intense light.

I heard the crackle of the radio.

I took in another small sip of air...

Then, nothingness.


	20. Chapter 20

Hi everyone...

Today is a very dark day for many after the latest events. I have no words for what happened... But if there is someone reading this from France, I know it isn't much, but my heart and my thoughts are with you.

I don't know if I should have updated this, but I wanted to take my mind off from those terrible images and I wanted to give you guys the new chapter.

About the chapter, it doesn't follow a chronological order; the second part takes place several hours previous, but I wanted it this way, you'll see why...

I also wanted to thank you guys for all your flattering reviews :) I'm very glad you enjoyed the previous chapter... Thank you so much for all your support and kind words guys, really :)

Vive la France

* * *

"I have to say Piper," Jamie's elegant voice and smooth, British accent reached me above the sound of the rustling paper as she the brunette art restorer examined my sketches with a look of sincere interest on her face and a light of amazement shining in her kind amber eyes.

"Alex told me about your drawing skills," She continued, and at the mention of the raven haired woman, whose presence in the last few days had become persistent in my head, she almost lost me in my anxious thoughts about her, which were escalating with every hour that passed without me hearing of her, but when the brunette sat behind the antique mahogany desk raised her head to look at me over the sketchbook resting in her hands and her eyes locked with mine, I did my best to don't look distracted, and hide the small line of concern that had formed between my eyebrows.

"...But she hadn't mentioned exactly how extraordinary your works really are."

It took me a moment to register her words, but when I did, I couldn't help but blush a little as a timid smile spread across my face for the compliment.

"Thank you, you are too kind. But they are just sketches..." I said feeling a surge of pride swelling into my chest; I felt so incredibly flattered to receive compliments from a woman whom spent her entire days pratically immersed into artworks that were undoubtedly way more interesting than my simple draws.

She smiled at me, a soft smile that had a strangely soothing effect on me, something that I had noticed since the first moment we met in the American Wing of the Museum almost an hour previous; and that at the moment, given how much tense, nervous and anxious I was, and mostly not only because of the interview, was something that was very much welcomed.

She was kind, and her friendly personality put me immediately at ease.

"Don't be so modest Piper," She gave me another smile before her gaze returned to the open sketchbook in her hands. "I'm really impressed, and not only by your incredible drawing talent, but also by your skills in recognizing the style, indicate the exact historical period and describe a painting or any other artwork so accurately with just a first look."

This time I couldn't contain the wide smile that appeared on my lips and spread with a warm soft blush on my cheeks. "Thank you. It's something I actually enjoy very much; describe a painting to someone and compare the different perspectives."

Jamie had pratically interviewed me that morning by asking me to analyze a couple of paintings along with a few other sculptures and remains of ancient objects of different periods. She also asked me about my thesis and seemed very interested by the simple, yet vast subject I had chosen.

"And since you are so confident when you describe an artwork, and so available and scrupulous in your explaination like you have been when I've asked you a few questions before, I'm sure you don't have any problem to be a tour guide for small groups sometimes... Do you?"

It took me a few seconds to register what I thought she was actually saying to me, but then, her words sunk in and my eyes widened as I looked at her and saw a radiant smile appearing on her face, like a silent confirmation to the question written on my face.

"Y-you mean...?" For a brief moment, I found my voice, but it trailed off as soon as I saw her nodding, and at that point, I had to use every drop of self control I had in me to not jump from the chair were I was sitting for the sudden excitement that overwhelmed me.

"I would be a fool to let you slip through my fingers like this, Piper. You have all the qualities we are looking for in a new employee, and I think you would be perfect to work with us."

I could feel my heart beating so fast that I thought it was going to jump out of my chest as at the same time a rush of warmth settled inside of me. I was at a loss of words, but Jamie undestood immediately the sudden look of shock and excitement on my face and started chuckling.

"Should I take that big smile as a yes?" She asked tentatively arching an eyebrow at me with a very amused expression, and only in that moment I actually realized how broadly I was smiling, so much in fact that my cheeks were starting to hurt.

I started nodding, repeatedly, until I finally managed to give her a proper answer. "Yes! Yes of course!"

She let out a small laugh when she heard the enthusiasm in my voice, but I couldn't help it.

"I'm very glad to heard that Piper. And don't worry, you'll have the time for your studies and to complete your thesis..."

I couldn't believe to my own ears...

"I'll call you next week so we can make it official with all the paperworks and establish which will be your assignments, alright?"

Not only I had gotten a job that I wouldn't have even dared to dream to get, but it would have given me the time to complete my studies and graduate.

We hadn't discussed the pay yet, but she gave me an approximate idea about it.

It wouldn't have been extremely high, of course, but it would have been enough for me to pay my rent, my other few expenses and also repay my debts, even if it would have taken a bit longer for that. But at that point, I couldn't find a reason to care.

I felt my throat constricting as I fought to hold back the tears, and I had to swallow hard several times to get rid of that lump that had formed there, and that for once, was one of joy.

"I don't know what to say, Jamie. A simple thank you doesn't seem enough..."

My voice had become a little raspier but my words had never been so sincere.

The brunette art restorer on the other side of the desk simply smiled at me before she shook her head. "No need to say anything Piper. I've known you for an hour and I have seen everything we are looking for in a new employee; you are smart, talented, and your passion and curiosity about art can be seen from a mile." She winked and I let out a small slightly embarassed laugh.

"Seriously though," She continued after an humoured chuckle. "I think I should also thank Alex; if it wasn't for her, I would never had the occasion to meet you..."

At her words I couldn't help but think the exact same thing. The genuine, deep interest and care that Alex had showed towards me and her apprehension about my financial situation, made her ask to a friend for a possible occupation for me, and again, as my thoughts drifted towards her, I couldn't contain the new smile that I felt tugging at my lips.

"Have you guys known each other for long?" She asked me after a moment, closing the sketchbook resting in her hands and handing it back to me as we both stood and she accompanied me to the door of her office.

At that simple, but also very unexpected question, I felt my heart skipping a beat, and not even a second later, when her gaze returned to me as we stopped in front of the door, I felt my cheeks starting to burn more and more, until a deep furious red blush was covering my face and part of my neck.

For a moment, even if I knew that I had no reason to, I panicked, not knowing how I should have answered, even if a "Not exactly" would have been enough, the various answers that formed in my head were making it difficult for me to think clearly.

I looked at the tentative yet a bit expectant smile that Jamie was giving me as I replayed in my head the gentle tone that she had used, realizing that it wasn't holding curiosity or suspiciousness.

It was just an innocent question.

And it was my reaction, my wide eyed expression and my flushed face that gave me away and then, the expression on the brunette's face changed; a knowing, slightly amused smile formed on her lips, but she didn't say anything else.

Thanks to my reaction, she had probably suspected that the interest that both Alex and I had, wasn't limited to our common _passion_ about art or to my _appreciation_ for her _impressive_ , _private_... Collection.

I saw her diverting her gaze as she bit her lips to try to contain the new, bigger smile that was slowly starting to show on her face.

I held my breath for all the time, opening and closing my mouth like a fish as my blush deepened further, not knowing what to say but feeling that I needed to say something at least to divert the conversation from that subject.

Luckily, she came to my rescue and changed the topic.

"It will be interesting to work with you Piper and it's been a pleasure to meet you. I'll call you before next week ok?" Her smile returned soft and gentle, and once I recovered, after I managed to release the air I was holding in my lungs, I could only return the gesture with as much sincerity.

"The pleasure is all mine Jamie, believe me." I answered, glad that I had regained some of my control. "And... Thank you."

She nodded at me and gave me a friendly wink. "You're welcome."

The sense of relief and joy that I felt spreading into my chest, and the smile that continued to grow on my face, was even wider than the one I felt settling inside me the previous day when I had annunced to Sylvia that I couldn't work for her anymore, and as I made my way towards the main entrance of the Museum, for the second time in two days, the first person that I wanted to call, was Alex.

I pulled my phone out from the pocket of my jeans, with a sense of excitement that I couldn't contain as I hoped that this time I would have found a message or a call, but once again, I was met with a blank screen starring back at me.

I wasn't expecting her to answer me to the text that I had sent to her the previous evening; I wasn't expecting anything. But I was hoping to hear her...

I really missed her.

I knew she was at work, and she told me that she would have stayed away for a few days, but think about those explaination, didn't soothe my mind; on the contrary, it wiped away every trace of joy and relief from inside me and replaced it with anguish and the same concern.

I sighed deeply as I put my phone away and pulled out another object from the pocket of my coat, the one that I had bought for her that same morning before my interview, and that as soon as I noticed it in a stand on my way to the Museum, I immediately thought about her.

Another sigh left my lips as I looked at the figures engraved on the quarter-sized medallion.

I hope she will like this. I thought with a small smile as I let go the extremity of the thin silver chain and watched as it dropped silently on the center of my cupped hand before I secured it into the inner pocket of my coat.

I reached the main entrace and wrapped the scarf around my neck before I exited, feeling as a shiver ran up my spine when the cold, freezing wind blew right in my face.

I looked up and noticed the threatening dark gray clouds that covered the sky.

It wasn't raining, yet, but I could smell in the air that it wouldn't have taken long before it would have started.

I had just shifted my gaze downward as I started to discend the stone stairway when I noticed something, or rather _someone_ , standing a couple of steps of distance in front of me.

I froze on the spot.

I couldn't prevent my heart to jump right into my throat at the sight, nor I could prevent the sense of anguish that I felt starting to raise inside of me just a few minutes previous to swell a thousand times more into my chest when my gaze locked with the familiar short young woman.

I had just met her a couple of times before, and I remembered pretty clearly both the occasions, and if I would have met her in any other place during any other day, I would have believed that it was just a coincidence...

But in that moment, the word _coincidence_ kept ringing so worryingly wrong in my head.

It was like living one of those moments when you know something is going to happen, and that sickening feeling of dread settles inside you, clenching painfully your stomach with a sense of nausea before it actually happens.

And as soon as I saw her, under the surprise and slight confusion, I knew that there was something really wrong.

The way she looked at me, her tired face, the dark circles under her eyes that gave away the fact that she must have lost at least an entire night of sleep...

I could sense it in the pit of my stomach, in the way my hands started to tremble and became suddenly sweaty... In the icy shiver that ran up my spine and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

And when young woman with long messy reddish-blonde hair took those last couple of steps closer and diverted her gaze from mine, I found myself taking one back involuntarily.

 _No..._

The look on her face was less than reassuring and I was trying to push down, unsuccessfully, all those sensations that started bubbling inside of me in that second before she stopped right in front of me, as a comfirmation that she was actually there _for me_ , if I still had any doubt left.

A thousand of questions floated around my head, but the most important one was ready to slip from my lips if it wasn't for the fact that my throat had become painfully dry in a split second; like a defense mechanism came to protect me and that didn't allow me to ask, because I didn't want to ear an answer that I dreaded like nothing else in that moment.

I saw her swallow hard before she raised her head to look at me, only in that moment noticing exactly how tired and exhausted she looked, and how those deep dark eyes that had shown kindness and mirth both the times I had met her, were holding an infinite concern that hit me forcefully, right in my stomach.

I watched as she ran a hand through her messy long hair before she spoke, her voice uncertain, tentative, almost unfocused, sounding a bit disoriented, something that worsened what I was already feeling happening inside me.

"Alex doesn't bring her phone with her when she... _works_. So..." I watched as she held up a phone before she continued, and then I understood. I knew what she would have said next.

"I have accidentaly saw your text..." She paused for a brief second, just long enough to take in a shaky sip of air. "I-I'm sorry, I-I h-had to track down the GPS signal on your phone to find you."

She apologized and I had to blink a few times, hearing her words but having a very hard time to understand what she was saying with the million of questions that were still floating around my mind and with the same number of sensations that were paralyzing me from the inside.

I heard her sigh, watched as she shook her head in disbelief before, with a slightly incredulous, self accusing tone she said "Jesus... I should have know it was you."

With every second I remained there without saying anything, confused by what she was saying or trying to say to me, the tension and sense of anguish that I felt inside kept growing until at some point, after I heard her say that she was looking for me, I couldn't take it anymore. I found my voice but my tone was allarmed, and just a step away from pure panic.

"Why were you looking for me Nicky?" And then, without thinking twice about it, and already feeling my heart ready to burst in my chest if I had to way for just a second longer, I asked the two most important questions; the ones I kept asking myself in the past few days and that even if I was afraid to hear the answers, I needed to know.

I _had_ to know.

"Where is Alex? Is she okay?"

In the moment of silence that followed, I felt the time slowing down.

The background, the surrounding noises, the people that kept walking beside us, the cold blows of the wind, seemed to stop.

I felt the few seconds turning into full, agonizing minutes as I watched closely the way the expression on Alex's best friend's face changed right after my question; I noticed how her features contorted with a painful look and watched the way her eyes filled even more with worry and distress.

I opened my mouth, forcing myself to take in a small breath, but unable to fill my lungs with air; feeling as my throat constricted and tears started to fill my eyes.

 _Please, no._

And if the look that she was giving me wasn't a good enough answer, what she said next turned my blood to ice and sent a stab of such an unbearable pain right into my heart, feeling as it shatter in millions of pieces in my chest at the same moment that my legs threatened to give up under my weight.

"Alex got hurt, Piper..."

 **. . .**

The nightmare was always the same...

A dark vortex made with all the mistakes I had committed pulled me down forcefully into the oblivion. A cold, icy abyss where the faces of the lives I had taken laughed hysterically at me.

Obscured shapes moved in the darkness.

And I could sense the appetites of those lost souls.

Their hunger for revenge.

I could smell and recognize the unmistikable stink of each one of their deaths.

...The ones I had blessed them with.

My hands felt sticky, and when I looked down, I saw them covered in blood, just like any other time.

A dark red substance that burned my skin and corroded my bones, reaching the deepest place inside of me, leaving an indelible stain; a deep scar on my soul.

It wasn't the blood of my victims, the ones of my preys; the blood of the corrupted and the wicked was easy to wash away.

But this one, for how much I tried to get rid of it, I never succeeded.

The scorching guilt I felt didn't allow me to.

I closed my eyes as I prepared myself for what would have come next, already knowing what would have followed, and when they fluttered open once again, I was met with the same sight that never failed in making me drop onto my knees. Sobbing like a little kid.

Defeated.

Broken.

I was forced once again to watch the moment of my biggest mistake, like a spectator watching the scene of the same movie, knowing how it would have ended, but unable to not scream to the screen as if it would have prevented and changed the events of the past.

As I looked back to what had been, images flashed before my eyes, backwards, quickly, blinding me like the whiteness of the snow, but I knew them; I recognized every single one, every painful moment.

I had to watch myself doing the same errors over and over.

And just when I thought it couldn't become worse, a moment later I was no longer just a silent spectator.

I was the protagonist.

But for as aching as it was to relive that moment, I couldn't help but enjoy how that scene began. It brought up an endless sense of melancholy and loss but also a deep soothing sensation that I had lost familiarity with ever since...

 _"Morning Counselor." I said with a smirk as I stepped into the familiar vast office adorned with the most beautiful pieces of art._

 _I closed the door behind me with a soft thud and the woman sat behind the large wooden desk looked up at me from a pile of paperworks feigning an annoyed look._

 _"Seriously?" She asked arching an eyebrow with a smirk already tugging at her lips, and for a moment, it was like looking myself in a mirror, with just a few wrinkles marking the time on my face._

 _"There is any chance that you'll stop calling me like that, Alex?" She continued with a sigh, and I just shook my head with a shit eating grin._

 _"Great!" She exclaimed excitedly as she stood and circled her desk to come and greet me. "Then I'll start to call you Allie whenever you have to testify in court, how does that sounds to you, young lady?"_

 _The most horrified look appeared on my face along with a furious embarassed blush after hearing that threat as at the same time, an incredibly satisfied grin spread across her lips._

 _"Please don't. I withdraw everything. I certainly don't want to make the most dreaded US Attorney of the country my enemy." I surrendered holding up my hands as I smiled genuinely at her when she stopped in front of me and hugged me tightly for a brief moment._

 _"Hi mom." I greeted her properly returning the hug._

 _"Hi baby." She kissed me on the cheek before she pulled back and cupped my face in her hands, looking at me with concerned eyes._

 _"Are you okay Allie? You don't look very rested..." She took a step back and took a general look at me. "And you are not even eating properly, are you?" She asked with an accusatory tone and an arched eyebrow._

 _I sighed, running a hand through my hair, feeling my eyelids so incredibly heavy after the night spent on the latest case._

 _For once she wasn't just acting like the usual apprehensive mother, this time I couldn't deny it, or mask the obvious signs of tiredness and exhaustion that were showing on my face and on the rest of my body._

 _"It's just this case..." I announced with more than a hint of frustration as I waved the file that I was holding in my hand._

 _"What about it?" She asked before leading me towards the couch beside the massive bookshelf that was filled with every law books that had ever been written._

 _As soon as we sat down, I couldn't help but feel like a little kid who was asking for help to her parent for her homeworks._

 _"I don't think we have enough to nail this guy and his associates. It's just... So incredibly frustrating." I said angrily throwing the file on the coffee table in front of the couch before I rested my elbows on my knees and took off my glasses to rub my tired eyes._

 _I heard her picking up the dossier from the table and opening it to take a look to the papers resting inside before she asked "And for what were you investigating him exactly?"_

 _I sat back and put my glasses on once again as I answered. "Human trafficking. Nicky and I have been assigned with a few others for this case."_

 _Her gaze returned to me for a second with a look that was between suspicious and amusement. "You and Nicky together on a case," She shook her head and started chuckling. "The fearsome duo. I hope you are following the rules Allie, you know exactly how it works if Nicky happens to gets some information in a not legal way..."_

 _I let out a small laugh myself at that. "I know. The Prosecutor won't be able to use them in court if they have been obtained without a warrant... I'm not a rookie mom."_

 _She chuckled at me. "I know, yet you came here to ask me for a little help, am I right?"_

 _I diverted my gaze from hers looking down at my hands resting in my lap before I mumbled a reluctant "...Yes."_

 _Her chuckle turned into a soft laugh as she closed the dossier, and I was sure that she would have denied to help me, instead, she surprised me when she answered with a convinced "Ok" as she stood from the couch._

 _My head snapped up and my eyes widened a bit. "You mean, you'll take a look at the case?"_

 _"Of course I will, sweetheart. Can I keep this?" She asked holding up the dossier with all the copies of the files about the case._

 _"Yes, of course." I beamed happily, gratefully at her. "Thank you mom."_

She smiled back at me, one of those motherly loving smiles.

One of the lasts I had seen on her face.

...If only I knew in what kind of danger I was putting her in that moment.

If only I had stopped to think, to consider a second longer before I handed her that damned case...

It was the biggest mistake that I had ever committed.

The one that got killed the person that loved me the most in the world.

I waited with bated breath for the inevitable; usually this was the part where the dream changed and turned into the real nightmare that had been.

...But the surrounding didn't change.

The satisfied assassin didn't show up to smile wickedly at me.

But I started to hear an echo.

It was so distant and so confused that I couldn't even understand if it was a voice or a simple noise, or a combination of both.

"You're welcome Allie." My mother said as she kept smiling reassuringly at me. "You know I love you, right? But you need to listen to Nicky and wake up now..."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, not understanding what that latest part meant.

"What do you mean?"

I heard my mother speaking, I saw her mouth moving, but the soft voice wasn't hers when a soft whisper left her lips.

"Wake up Alex..."

Suddenly, I felt a pressure.

Like a powerful punch hitting me right on my chest.

I closed my eyes for a second, shaking my head to recover from that sensation, and when I opened them once again, the surrounding of the dream became unfocused, blurry.

The sensation on my chest returned.

Twice.

Followed by the faint touch of a pair of lips pressed against my own before I felt an unexpected puff of air filling my lungs.

I blinked, and through my closed eyes I saw a new figure standing in front of me.

Blonde hair.

Blue eyes.

A timid adorable smile that I would have recognized among thousands, but that for as much as I forced myself, I couldn't place at the moment.

But I knew that young woman.

Try to keep concentration while images after images flashed in my already confused mind as I tried to search in my memories for the name of that woman, was near to impossible, but it didn't stop me from trying, and just when I thought I realized whom she was, her look changed, slowly, assuming the features of someone else as the surrounding changed into an undefined space.

"Come on Al!"

The echo was still distant but the voice was louder now, and the figure in front of me started to take a very familiar aspect.

"Nicky?" I asked confused, squinting my eyes to try to figure out if it was really my best friend the one whom was speaking to me. But she didn't seem to notice or register me calling her name.

"Don't you dare Alex! Don't you fucking dare!"

That voice became perfectly clear and I recognized it undoubtly as the one of my best friend, listening as she shouted nonsenses at me.

She looked and sounded angry, incredibly upset, like I never had occasion to see her before, and a deep confusion covered immediately my features in front of that sight.

"What is it Nicky? What's wrong?"

I tried to take a step towards her, but an invisible force didn't allow me to, pulling me back forcefully.

Images flashed in front of me in a rapid succession and this time I felt an electric shock shaking and transfixing me to the core.

A second later, I heard more voices.

More sounds.

The loudest was the one of air being cut by giant blades.

I could feel the echo of a tingle on my thigh that became much more intense with every passing second, until it turned into a dull pain.

The shock returned and this time Nicky's voice reached me clearly, calling me form outside of my dream as she kept shouting angrily at me.

"Damn it Alex! If you die I'll kill you!"

An infinite moment of silence followed as I took in a deep breath, like the first one after being remained without air for what seemed a lifetime.

My eyes fluttered tentatively open, just barely, only to be blinded by the intensity of the lights as the world of the living greeted me once again.

"I have a pulse!" Someone shouted.

A sigh of relief, and then the comforting sound of my friend's voice enocuraging me.

"Good girl... Keep it up Alex. Keep it up."

I could hear a buzzing in my ears as if they had been stuffed with cotton, my head felt twice too little for my brain and the confusion that wrapped around me was the one that I imagined someone could feel only when they woke up after having slept for what could only have been a million of years.

Every inch of my body hurt so badly that I was tempted to just close my eyes and hope that oblivion would have claimed me once again, but then under all the pain, under all the confusion I felt, I registered a soft touch, a gentle reassuring hand holding mine and a thumb caressing my forehead in a soothing, tender gesture.

I turned my head to look at my side and even if I couldn't figure out the face, through my half lidded eyes and still blurry vision I recognized immediately that mass of messy reddish-blonde hair.

I could hear other voices and see other shadows, unfocused figures moving beside me as I realized where I was and everything started to come back to me, slowly.

The woods.

The mission.

The target.

The moment of hesitation I had and that earned me a knife in my leg...

Then I frowned when the absence of a detail had me even more confused as I thought

 _But Nicky wasn't there with me..._

I tried to talk, but the oxygen mask that was covering my mouth wasn't allowing me to.

It took all the strenght I had left in me to raise my hand but someone placed it down once again.

"Try to stay still Alex, we are almost there..."

I didn't know exactly what she meant with _there_ , but I suspected it given my conditions.

I kept feeling cold, but not as much as I remembered I felt before I lost consciousness.

I tugged weakly at my best friend's hand and thankfully, it was enough to get her attention.

"What is it Al?" She asked taking off momentarily the oxygen mask from me. Her voice was filled with anguish and I could feel her other hand slick with blood shook violently in mine.

My head was filled with questions above questions as I asked myself what happened, how she had found me...

Try to find my voice seemed an impossible task at the moment, but I succeded to move my lips and let out a weak "How?"

By the look and the small smile that appeared on her face she knew exactly what I meant with her question and she didn't wait to give me an answer.

"I told you I wanted to come along with you this time Alex. You can't seriously think that I wouldn't have ignored your warnings and done everything to follow you into such a dangerous mission, can you?"

Her lips turned up in a shaky smirk as she squeezed my hand tightly in hers.

"I'll explain everything Alex, just hang on and stay awake ok? Stay with me."

My eyes fluttered shut for the briefest second and a faint smile spread on my lips when another familiar figure appeared before me from my most recent and most pleasant memories.

Only a few moments previous I wanted to succumb and just let go; reach that place where every pain was just a distant memory.

But when the same timid, smiling face that I had seen before unconsciousness claimed me and also the same one that I had seen in those fragmented images that had flashed in front of me while I was stuck somewhere else; without meaning to and without realizing that Nicky was still looking and listening to me, I found my voice and a much louder whisper left my lips as an encouragement, a reminder that I needed to fight against the pain and just stay awake.

"Piper..."

* * *

 **A bit of anguish, but you were not seriously thinking that I would have actually killed Alex... Were you? You don't have to worry guys :)**


	21. Chapter 21

Hi there!

I guess that even you guys are still very shocked by what happened and worried for all that is happening right now in the world... My thoughts are still with the French people. All the nations need to be strong and united right now if we want to end all this madness.

Anyway... I'm here because I have a new chapter for you guys, and I hope that some Vauseman will help to distract you a bit :)

Enjoy

* * *

I kept following the rise and fall of her chest with my eyes.

Not missing a single one of the breaths that she took in, or one of the constant light beeps that indicated each one of the beats of her heart, finding myself breathing at her same rhythm, and holding the air in my lungs just for a few moments longer when I saw her doing the same, only to release it with a new wave of relief when she reasumed her normal rhythm.

But just looking at her chest as she breathed, or listening to that constant, hypnotic, slow, beeping sound, wasn't enough.

I held her hand in mine in a gentle grasp because I wanted to feel for myself the weak but regular pulse under my fingertips, the sensation of her skin and the warmth of her body against mine; absently drawing circles over each one of her long fingers or running my thumb over her knuckles.

I could still see traces of dried blood under her fingernails... _her_ blood.

 _She must have lost so much of it,_ I thought as I trapped my bottom lip between my teeth.

Her perfect alabaster skin was alarmingly pale.

She looked like a faded picture of the ones I held in my memories of her from the last time I had seen her; heard her deep voice, her amused chuckle rumbling in her throat, seen her contagious smile and that particular, compelling light shine into her mystic green eyes.

I watched the way her long eyelashes fluttered as she slept and dreamed, still under the devastating effect of the anesthesia after the surgery which had kept her on an operating table for several, infinite, agonizing hours.

My throat hurt so badly as I kept fighting to hold back tears when my eyes shifted from her face to look down and meet the large, angry purple bruise around her elegant neck.

I diverted my gaze because I couldn't bear the sight of that mark on her delicate skin; to know that she was injured was one thing, but knowing that someone had tried -and almost succeeded- to _kill_ her, made the bile rise in my throat.

I shifted in my position on the chair where I was sitting as my eyes returned to follow the rise and fall of Alex's chest, and I found comfort in the fact that she was there.

In front of me.

Alive.

Even if she no longer looked like the majestic, fearless, predatory, wild feline I had noticed she looked like that morning when I woke up beside her sleeping figure, but resembling a small, hurt, undefended cub.

I could feel Nicky's eyes on me from the other side of the large, private hospital room, but I couldn't find the strenght inside of me to divert my gaze from Alex's vulnerable wounded body, nor I felt like I had a real reason to meet the other woman's gaze.

For all the endless ride, as she drove us to the hospital, I kept looking at her -just like I knew she was looking between me and Alex in that moment- waiting for an explaination, a reason, _anything_...

But after the first few times that she had refused to give me a proper answer to my questions and just conceded me a "There's been an... Accident. She's hurt. Badly. But she's alive" as if it would have been enough to soothe my gravely tense nerves and slow down the frantic, aguished, forcefully beats of my heart, I remained silent for the rest of the ride, feeling as those sensations kept growing more and more inside of me with every passing second.

 _Maybe she didn't want to worry me more than what I already was_ , I thought to myself, but in that way she actually succeeded in doing the exact contrary; keeping in the shadows the details and the answers I was hoping to receive, only raised more questions.

Maybe she kept them hidden from me because she didn't want to scare me...

My thoughts brought me back to several hours previous, to that morning, when Nicky showed up in front of the Museum, looking for me.

The element of surprise was completely gone, but the shock was still present, even if it had turned into a silent emotional bomb that presented itself with devastating waves of anguish every now and then.

And the next wave had just arrived to greet me.

I had to close my eyes and tilt my head down, biting hard on my bottom lip when I felt it hitting me hard right in the center of my chest, feeling as my shoulders started to shake but resisting and not letting the tears fall, knowing that if I started, there wouldn't have been a way to stop them.

Above the thoughts swirling in my head, the sound of a chair legs scraping lightly the floor broke the silence, followed by the soft sound of steps approaching me.

"Hey..." Nicky's voice was a tentative whisper, her tone gentle as it was the hand that she placed on my shoulder.

"She's going to be okay, Piper." She reassured me. "Alex is a tough girl, she'll be alright..."

For the first time since I entered the hospital room and Alex was brought in after her surgery, I diverted my gaze from her to look at my side, to look at her best friend's and at the tentative smile on her face.

The confidence in her words, her soft smile and the light squeeze she gave on my shoulder, comforted me more than what I thought possible, but the effect didn't last for long...

After I succeeded to swallow down the stubborn, painful lump that had been stuck in my throat for the entire afternoon, I managed to speak, no longer used to my own voice as the words came out in a raspy whisper; my throat so dry it felt like sandpaper.

"Who did this to her?" My tone was light, but the disbelief and pain in my voice wasn't lost on the young woman at my side whose expression changed immediately after my question, tilting her head down and diverting her eyes from mine.

I was ready to give up any chance that she would have given me an answer since I wasn't able to obtain a proper one from her in all the afternoon, but this time, she surprised me as her gaze returned to meet mine a moment later.

Her expression was hard, her jaw clenched, and her dark eyes had lost any trace of the warmth that I had found there the other times, and its absence almost frightened me as her other hand clenched into a tight fist before she answered me.

"That bastard won't have occasion to hurt Alex, or anybody else anymore. He got what he deserved."

The tone she used, the venom in her voice...

The hate.

The anger...

It didn't leave much to immagination.

I didn't need to ask for anything else.

I understood immediately what she meant.

It wasn't an answer that I was expecting, not that I was expecting something in particular, but it was becoming near to impossible to keep all the new questions that were forming in my head all for myself.

Nicky had shown reluctance to talk about everything that happened, but I couldn't blame her.

...Not completely.

Evidently, Alex had told to her best friend that she was seeing someone, but she hadn't revealed my name... A thought that, even if in a small part, hurt me a little; I knew how much Nicky meant to her, she had told me stories about the two of them that resembled the ones of two sisters, but if she hadn't felt like telling her, she must have had her reasons for not doing it.

However, at Nicky's eyes, I was still a stranger. Maybe she was protecting her friend by not revealing what happened...

It only raised more and more question about Alex's profession as for the first time I realized exactly how incredibly dangerous her job was.

And it made me beyond nervous.

Scared.

But those were just a minimal, ignorable part of what I felt and that could be pushed aside for the moment.

My gaze returned to Alex's sleeping form and I reasumed the slow movement of my thumb over her knuckles.

I just wanted her to be okay.

I just wanted her _safe_.

I looked down at her leg resting under the white bed sheets, knowing that it was the place where she had been severely wounded.

If it wasn't for the fact that I had, not so accidentally, overheard the conversation that happened outside the hospital room between Nicky and the surgeon who had operated Alex, I wouldn't have known some of the details, and even when I heard them, words like "mortal wound" and "could have died" made me desire that I didn't heard that conversation. On the other hand, knowing that she had been "very lucky" and that her condition was still "serious but stable" sent a small wave of relief that shooted my nerves, even if it wasn't strong enough to slow down my still racing heart.

"I think I'll go and take a coffee," Nicky's voice pulled me out from my thoughts. "Do you want to come with me?"

I turned my head to look at her and at the tender smile on her face.

Even if she was reluctant to let me know what had happened to Alex, she had done everything to find me and drive me to the hospital where Alex was recovered.

She had abbandoned the side of her best friend to come and find me.

That gesture alone spoke louder than anything else, and it made me smile gratefully at her everytime I thought that if it wasn't for her, I would probably still be asking anxiously to myself where she was. But it also made me wonder what part Nicky's had in Alex's job; she said she had to "track down" the GPS signal on my phone to find me, so the only thing I could think of, was that she had an impressive knowledge of electronic devices...

Every small detail I had been able to obtain, seemed to suggest that they were into spying, or worked for some kind of intelligence and secret service.

But I didn't have enough informations to confirm such theory.

And at the moment, even if it was one of the thoughts that kept bouncing in my head, it wasn't the most important one.

"No thank you, I'm okay..." I appreciated her kind invitation, but I declined it just as gently; at the moment, the only place I wanted to be, was right at Alex's side.

Nicky gave me another small, knowing smile as she squeezed reassuringly my shoulder.

"Don't worry too much kid," Hear that term of endearment made my heart skip a beat;Alex called me in the exact same way when we were together, and even if the effect in that moment wasn't the same as it was when I heard it falling from Alex's lips with her throaty voice, it was still somehow comforting to hear. "Like I said, Al is a tough girl, not even an army could take her down so easily..."

A slightly concerned look crossed Nicky's tired features while she said that looking at the sleeping raven haired woman on the bed, but when her eyes returned to me, she gave me a small wink before she turned with the intention to leave.

"W-wait..." I stopped her right before she reached the door, turning to face me and locking her kind big brown eyes on me as I voiced what I meant to say to her since she found me and let me know about Alex's conditions.

"I-I... Thank you Nicky."

My voice was soft and my words were filled with gratitude towards the short young woman who smiled genuinely at me, knowing that I meant it for everything she had done.

"Don't mention it..." A moment later, she left, closing the door softly behind her as she exited.

Silence fell once again in the dimly lighted room as I was left alone with Alex and the sound of the slow, but constant beats of her heart.

I watched outside the window on the opposite wall from me, seeing nothing but a few distant lights shining in the darkness of the late evening, unable to suppress a long silent yawn, only in that moment realizing exactly how tired I was, how heavy my eyelids felt and how my back was starting to hurt from the sitting position that I had been in for the last few hours beside Alex's bed.

My gaze returned to her once again.

And even if I knew that she was still under the effect of the anesthesia, I couldn't help but think that she looked so peaceful.

And that even if her skin was several allarmingly shades paler than usual, her neck was badly bruised, her lips chapped, and she had dark circles under her eyes, I couldn't help but think that she still looked like the most beautiful woman I had ever seen...

I looked down at her hand, the one I was holding in mine in a gentle grasp, and I intertwined our fingers together.

Another yawn left my lips, feeling as sleep called me for the second time.

Try to resist was impossible; the idea to close my eyes was too inviting at the moment after the long emotionally exhausting day I had, so I shifted in the chair to find a more comfortable position before I rested my head on my forearm on the edge of the bed.

 _Just a few minutes_ , I said to myself as I closed my eyes, never letting go of Alex's hand.

By the time Nicky came back, I was fast asleep.

 **. . .**

I started to wake up for the pain.

Whimpering and groaning softly the more I regained consciousness, feeling as the occasional tingling sensation of dull ache on my leg turned quickly into painful stabs.

My whole body felt like someone had injected some kind of new devastating mix of drugs up to my veins, and the effect it had in my head rended me disoriented and confused like I had never felt before.

It took me an eternity to open my eyes, and when I finally succeeded, I had to blink several times to focus on the surrounding without my glasses, but it didn't take me long to realize where I was; the characteristic smell of antiseptic was a good enough answer to my question, as it was the light beeping sound coming from beside me.

The pain in my leg was becoming excruciating, making me close my eyes tightly as a new groan rumbled deep in my dry throat while I was trying to find the strenght to sit up, only to be pushed down gently by a hand pressed against my chest when I managed to pull myself up of a few inches.

"Where do you think you are going. Lay down Alex, or I swear I'll handcuff you to this fucking bed."

Under the pain that I knew it was showing on my face despite my best efforts, a smirk tugged at my lips when I heard Nicky's voice, who managed to make it sound like a pretty convincing threat even in the shushed tone she used.

"Promises, promises..." I teased her through a grimace as I reopened my eyes to look at my side.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lighted room, realizing that it was late night, and that the expression on my best friend's face was the opposite of amused after my humorous reply.

It wasn't a expression that I was accustumed to see on Nicky's face; the harshness, the cold distant look in her eyes that sent an icy a shiver up my spine and that made me divert my gaze from hers...

 _Fuck._

I knew what was going to come next, and at the moment I didn't have the energy to face this even if I knew it was all my fault and that she had every right to be angry at me.

Damn... Even I was angry with myself for how I had fucked up this time.

"Here." Nicky's sigh and slightly gentler tone made me raise my head to look at her outstretched hand as she handed me a glass of water.

I accepted it immediately, mumbling an husky thanks and watching as she ran a hand through her long hair that looked even more messy than usual.

A few sips of cool water brought some relief to my sore throat, but my leg was still pulsing painfully, so much that the pain had reached my upper thigh.

"Does it hurts?" Nicky's voice returned to sound cold and distant, and in that moment, hearing her like that, hurt way more than the increasing ache I felt spreading for all the lenght of my leg, but when I looked at her, I noticed how she was actually trying to cover up the deep concern that I could see lying in her dark eyes and that was showing even on her exhausted, incredibly tired face.

I only nodded, feeling as a lump formed in my throat when all she did was take the glass from me to place it down on the bedside table before she turned and clicked a few times on a small device beside the monitors to increase the dose of what I suspected was morphine that was being pumped right into my veins with an I V.

I was ready to protest but she interjected before I could say anything, pointing a warning finger at me.

"If you are going to say _anything_ about not wanting drugs in your body right now, I'll smother you with your pillow Alex. I'm not joking."

If it was possible, even if her voice remained low, her tone had become even more threatening, and this time, I didn't dare to reply in any way. I just let her do and tried to relax back into the bed.

A few moments of an uncomfortable heavy silence fell as she sighed and took a seat on the chair beside me, my eyes never leaving her as I played nervously with my hands, feeling as the morphine started to do its effect, gradually reducing the pain.

I was still feeling a bit disoriented, but I was becoming more conscious with every passing minute, and after a while, I couldn't take it anymore.

Nicky's silence treatment was becoming too much for me to bear. I was to the point to apologize, for everything that happened, for not listening to her, but she spoke first, and her voice, from angry and cold, turned to match the concern that I had seen covering her face only a few moments before.

"What the hell happened Alex?"

Try to maintain eye contact was difficult, as it was get rid of the lump that was stuck in my throat, but after a few attempts to swallow it down, I succeeded.

"I fell on a knife... I guess we need to postpone the ski weekend in Colorado."

I should have expected the punch that she gave me and that hit me right on my shoulder because of my banter, and the fact that it wasn't a playful one, but that it was actually hard enough to send a tingle down my entire arm, was enough to let me know that Nicky wasn't amused at all.

And I sighed as I rubbed the sore spot where she had just hit me.

It would have been too simple to just solve everything with a joke like we used to do...

Not when one of the two had seriously risked her life.

The short memory of when I had seen Nicky and heard the rescue team helping me, was still blurred in my mind, but I knew it hadn't been just a dream or an allucination.

"I'm happy to see that this death experience hasn't affected your sense of humor."

The sarcasm in her voice was like a cold sharp blade; and it hurt a hundred times worse than the stab I had receive in my thigh with the hunting knife.

She was angry and upset like I never had occasion to see her before.

"Nicky-"

Once again, my attempt to apologize was stopped by her icy glance as she held up one hand.

"No, don't say it. Because it's not going to be enough Alex." She paused, trying to regain control of her voice, but I had already heard the way it cracked, feeling as that same crack resonated loudly in my own chest.

"You have _no_ idea what it was to see you like that. To feel the blood flowing out of you, to see you stop breathing and feel as your heart stopped beating for 40 fucking seconds."

She tilted her head down to look at her clasped hands as her leg started bouncing nervously and her shoulders started to shake.

Seeing her like that was incredibly painful. It made me feel terrible, and I couldn't blame her if she wanted to kill me in that moment.

I had to swallow several time, but I couldn't get rid of the stubborn lump that had formed once again in my throat, and when I spoke, my voice sounded so raspy and low that I barely recognized it as my own.

"I'm so sorry Nicky. I really am. I don't know what happened... I got... Distracted." Then I paused after I heard her scoff angrily, but I needed to continue.

"You were right. I should have listened to you..." I concluded in an even lower tone, just barely above a whisper that resonated in the silent hospital room as I remembered the conversation I had at home with my friend before I left for the mission.

When, after a few seconds, she raised her head and pulled back her hair, even in the dimly lighted room I could see the way her big brown eyes had started to glisten with tears.

"And it has taken you almost to die to admit that I was right and that it wasn't a good idea to go." She hissed at me shaking her head. "The surgeon said that the knife missed the femoral artery for three millimeters but you've lost a lot of blood anyway. If we arrived only 2 minutes later, it would have been too late."

Then, after she finished to express the seriousness of my injury, she did something that at the beginning frightened me a little not knowing her intention as she stood suddenly from the chair, but that both surprised me and filled me with relief when she took a step closer and bent just enough to pull me into a tight comforting hug.

And at that point, I could only hug her back with everything I had as she whispered in my ear "You scared the shit out of me, you idiot. Don't you _ever_ dare to scare me like that again."

I could feel her tears wetting my neck, but when she pulled back, she wiped them away quickly before I could see them, not wanting to look too vulnerable even if she knew I had probably realized exactly how upset she was.

As she took a seat on the chair once again, the question that had been in my head since I heard her voice and saw her after she the rescue team had reanimated me, represented in my head.

"Nicky..." I waited until her gaze returned to me, her eyes softening slowly, but still holding a hint of coldness. "How did you find me?" I asked furrowing my eyebrow and tilting my head to the side in both confusion and curiosity.

She didn't answer right away to my question, but she turned to recuperate something from the back of the chair, and I became even more confused when I realized that it was my bullet proof vest, the one I was wearing during the mission.

The one she had insisted so badly for me to wear.

I leaned in to watch what she was doing under the light of the small lamp on the bedside table as she placed the vest on her knees and opened a hidden pocket in the inner part that I had never noticed before.

My eyes widened in disbelief when I saw the small rectangular object that she pulled out from it.

"A satellite transmitter?" The shock was evident in my question even if I kept my voice down because of my hammering, throbbing headache.

Nicky just nodded, handing it to me before she explained. "I didn't follow you into the woods. I stayed where the emergency helicopter was, but I followed every step you made from a terminal and..." She turned the transmitter in my hand to show me the other side, and suddenly I understood everything before she even concluded. "...I kept under control your heart with an upgraded heart rate monitor. When I saw that your beats were out of range, I didn't think twice and said to the pilot to take off immediately."

I thought back about when I was in the woods and I was trying to fix the vest before the target arrived at the cabin, remembering the uncomfortable sensation of something pressed under my left breast, didn't matter how much I tried to move it aside.

My eyes widened even more as my gaze returned up to look at my friend, opening and closing my mouth, not knowing what I should have said.

If it wasn't for her... Because of the wound, the jammer, the radio and all...

I would have certainly died.

She saved my life twice.

"Nicky I-I-" I stammered still incredulous.

Once again, she interrupted me before I could express something that even I didn't know how I should have expressed with simple words, but she understood immediately.

She handed me my glasses and smiled at me.

"You would have done the same for me Alex."

I wouldn't have let her venture on a solo mission as dangerous as I knew it was the one that had actually almost killed me even if she would have begged me on her knees.

 _But she was right..._

I smiled back at her as tears filled my eyes, and I had to put my glasses on in order to cover them.

 _I would have done the same for her countless times..._

I was just going to ask her about when I could have been discharged, when the unexpected sound of rustling sheets caught my attention and made me turn my head to look towards a small couch on the corner of the other side the room. And it was in that moment that, even in the dimly lighted room and just squinting my eyes a little as I fixed my glasses on the bridge of my nose, I saw a sleeping figure covered with a blanket stirring on the couch, realizing that we weren't alone.

For all the time, I thought that Nicky was keeping her voice down as she lectured me because she had some pity for the headache she suspected I had, but that idea was pushed immediately aside as soon as I noticed the other presence in the room.

"Wh-"

I didn't have occasion to finish my question, because not even a second later, the figure on the small couch turned in her sleep, and the identity of that person was revealed to me.

My heart skipped a beat and all the air was sucked from my lungs.

For the first few seconds I thought I was still in one of those strange dreams or having another allucination, but when I saw that the sight in front of me didn't change after I blinked a few times, a mix of shock and confusion covered my features as I tried to pull myself up only to grit my teeth from the pain that the movement caused and that increased immediately my heartbeats before Nicky forced me down on the bed.

"Easy there. Don't make me use the cuffs." She threatened me again, but this time her voice didn't hold the minimal trace of anger. She was amused by my reaction, and started chuckling softly a moment later.

She noticed immediately the look on my face when my head snapped up to look her in the eyes, and I could have sworn that she could read perfectly every question that was written on my face as I tried to regain my breath.

To say that I was nervous, anxious and puzzled would have been the understatement of the century, but Nicky only smiled at me, reassuringly.

...She had found out.

"It's okay Alex... I know..." She confirmed as she rubbed my shoulder, but even if her touch was comforting and shooting, it didn't slow down the frantic beats of my heart as all I did was look at her with wide eyes before my gaze shifted once again of the peaceful sleeping figure curled up under a blanket on the couch.

Briefly, Nicky explained me everything; how she found out, then found her to tell her about my injury and brought her to the hospital.

"She remained at your side for all the time." She confessed in a soft whisper. "Drag her to the couch when I found her asleep on this chair wasn't easy."

My eyes remained on Piper's sleeping figure for all the time Nicky talked, and my heart ached when my friend revealed to me that she had been at my side, waiting for me to wake up.

"The kid was worried sick about you Al..."

Nicky's voice had regained its usual warmth and the tone she used didn't make things easy for how I was starting to feel inside of me when I realized that if it wasn't for my protective friend, I would have never had occasion to see Piper ever again.

The only thought sent an excruciating stab of pain right in my heart.

I had to blink several times before I could turn to look at Nicky, and when I did, the glint of hurt that I saw in her eyes before she diverted her gaze, for how small it was, it only made me feel worse.

"Nicky," I started to get her attention and when her eyes returned to me I continued. "I was going to tell you, I swear." I hoped that my eyes were showing at least half of the honesty that I felt inside of me. "I just..." I looked down shaking my head, not knowing how I should have continued and not wanting to see that look of hurt cross my friend's face.

She placed her hand on my exposed forearm being careful to not touch the IV and I raised my gaze tentatively, only to find that the look of hurt on her face had been replaced by a genuine reassuring smile.

"You needed your time Alex, I can't certainly blame you for that." Her words were sincere and the relief that I felt when I realized that she wasn't mad at me for not telling her, was something that soothed me immensely, only to be wiped away when a new thought crossed my mind and the look of nervousness returned on my face a second later with a hint of panic.

"So now she knows?" I asked to my friend referring to Piper knowing about my profession as I took in a shaky breath and felt as my heart started beating just a little faster while I waited for the inevitable confirmation.

But to my incredible surprise, Nicky just shook her head. "No... She doesn't. But you need to tell her Al."

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I closed my eyes tightly, feeling as the headache became even more intense thanks to the troubling thoughts that were forming in my head.

Nicky was right... If it wasn't for her, the blonde young woman wouldn't have known what had happened to me, and the fact that I made her worry was enough to make me feel an infinite sense of guilt.

As I opened my eyes, my gaze shifted immediately towards Piper and I couldn't suppress the smile that formed on my lips or ignore the way my heart fluttered wildly in my chest as I watched her sleep, knowing that she was there for me.

Every inch of my body screamed above the pain to get up and take just a few steps to watch her from a little closer; my hand itching to move gently aside that strand of golden hair that had fallen and was caressing the delicate skin of her cheek.

"Try to get some sleep sister." I couldn't help but find Nicky's advice so inviting at the moment as she fixed the pillows behind me before she took a seat on the chair. "You'll figure out a way in the morning..."

I sighed deeply, shakily, as I relaxed back on the bed and closed my eyes, not knowing where my decision would have brought us, and hoping with every fiber of my being that Piper would have understood when I would have confessed her which exactly was my profession.

I couln't keep it hidden from her any longer. Not after what happened...

I _had_ to tell her.

And she needed to know.


	22. Chapter 22

Hi there!

So, are you guys ready for Alex's confession? ;) There's not just that though, a few fluffly moments may also be present too... Who knows :D

Enjoy

* * *

It took me a few seconds to realize where I was when I woke up, meeting a very unfamiliar surrounding as soon as my eyes fluttered open.

I was still feeling halfway in dreamland, and my thoughts were a strange combination of the confused dreams I had during that night, and the latest events of what had happened and that were pushing me quickly towards the real world.

My back ached and I groaned softly as I slowly pulled myself up into a sitting position, rubbing my closed eyes and yawning silently as I started to put together and in order the pieces of the previous day.

The first one of all the series of images that followed and flashed in my mind, was Alex, and suddenly, my sleepiness and feeling of disorientation, were the furthest things from my mind. But before I could even turn my head and look towards the hospital bed, someone greeted me.

"Morning sleepyhead..."

My heart skipped a beat and an immense sense of relief filled me as soon as I heard that familiar, deep, slightly husky voice; recognizing it immediately as the one of the woman whom had me extremely worried for the past few days.

I looked at my side towards the bed resting several feet distant from the couch where I was sitting, and I was met with a sight that, even if it still broke my heart into tiny pieces to see her in that hospital bed knowing what had happened to her, melted me from the inside.

The sweet, sleepy grin that appeared on her lips as soon as I locked eyes with her, had me smile brightly, allowing a new surge of relief to spread into my chest as I stood and walked towards her.

"Hey..." I whispered softly as I reached her side, feeling as the smile on my lips became even wider when I noticed the dreamy way she was looking at me, realizing that she was probably a little under the effect of the drugs that were helping her for the pain.

Rays of warm sunlight streamed through the large window resting behind me, illuminating the hospital room and making it look much more pleasant, but the effect it had on Alex's face was simply beautiful.

It seemed that she had regained some of the color on her cheeks and her amazing green eyes were bright and shining with the same overwhelming light I always found there whenever she looked at me.

The dark circles under them were gone, and besides the _barely awake_ look on her face, she looked rested, and the broad, sleepy smile that she was giving me didn't fail in making my heart flutter wildly in my chest.

"It seems like you are doing better..." I observed with a small chuckle that became a soft laugh when all she did was smile even wider at me and nod her head enthusiastically as she confirmed with a secure "Yep"

"Thanks to my new little friend over here." She drawled gesturing to the inverted bottle hooked on the IV stand resting at her side and that was pumping into her veins what I suspected was a very strong analgesic, if the way she was slurring a bit her words and the way she looked still a little disoriented were any indication.

And even if I knew that I shouldn't have found it in that way, I couldn't help but think that it was actually kind of amusing to see her like that.

...She looked adorable.

"And I bet that Nicky's gone somewhere to get a IV of her own but filled with coffee instead," It was only in that moment, after Alex's funny banter that I noticed the absence of the petite young woman in the room. "She was probably getting jealous." She concluded whispering conspiratorially to me as she leaned in and showed the needle stuck on the inside of her elbow for good measure.

Once again I had to stifle my laugh.

Yes, seeing the usual perfectly controlled and confident Alex under the effect of a strong analgesic, was definitely a very amusing sight to witness.

But it was only a matter of a few seconds before that sight stopped to be entertaining and anguish assaulted me once again as reality came crashing back to me when I heard her groaning and saw her grimacing while she tried to pull herself up from the bed to find a more comfortable position.

I heard her hiss under her breath for the pain and watched as her hand flew immediately on her wounded leg.

Not even a second later, my body reacted instictively, even before my mind could understand what I was doing. "Hey, hey... Take it easy there..." I cautioned softly as I helped her genlty to rest back against the pillows.

Maybe it was the delicate tone of my voice, or my suddenly _very_ close proximity and the gentle hold I had on her shoulders as I urged her down onto the bed... Whatever it was, in the moment our eyes locked, I could have sworn that I had seen the pain dissipating from her face; her eyes became more clear and every trace of the disorienting effect that the drugs were having on her, along with the playfulness of a few moments previous, were completely gone.

She looked suddenly perfectly lucid, composed, but showing not even a hint of the confidence that I was used to see wrapped around her like a second skin, or an invisible armor.

This time, she looked exposed, nervous and defensless.

I could tell that it was being difficult for her to keep eye contact, but at the same time, I could also see the reluctance in there to divert her gaze as she allowed me see all the vulnerable emotions that I had never saw flashing in her eyes before.

My heart started beating painfully in my chest, and a new lump formed in my throat as I realized that there had been a very concrete possibility and that I had risked to not see those stunning green eyes or the full beautiful smiles that she had given me just a few minutes previous, ever again.

And when at that thought I added the fear, the uncertainty and concern that I saw reflected into those bright green pools, I felt my heart crack open.

I had no words to express the emotional storm that the latest events had caused and that I was feeling moving relentlessly inside me, so I just let my body speak for me as I leaned in and pressed my lips softly against hers.

I whimpered with relief in her mouth, overwhelmed, when I felt the warm touch her hand on the back of my neck, urging me just a little closer as she kissed me back with everything she had; gently, tenderly, yet eagerly and with ardor.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized how much we both needed this simple, yet powerful physical contact; to reassure the other, to take comfort... To make sure that all of that was actually _real._

The touch offered by her hand had never been gentler when she traced the outline of my jaw with her thumb as our lips kept moving in complete sync, just like every other time, but feeling it somehow different; more hesitant, but that soothed my mind and my soul in a way that I didn't even know could have been possible.

We broke apart only when our lungs screamed for air, and even in that moment, as our lips separated, we remained close; my hands cupping her face as I placed small, soft kisses on the corner of her mouth, her cheek, the side of her nose, feeling how her slightly labored breath started to return to normal.

The last kiss I placed, was just a delicate brush against her lips.

"You really scared me Alex," I whispered the words mere inches from her lips, keeping my eyes closed because I didn't know what I would have seen into hers when I confessed what I felt for the past few days. "I-I... I-I didn't know what to think, I-I h-had no idea where you were..."

My voice trailed off, the lump in my throat didn't allowed me to continue, and the only thing I could do, was to try, unsuccessfully, to mask some of the sorrow that had appeared on my face, and try to keep the tears from falling freely down my cheeks.

"Piper..." Alex's quiet voice and tender touch on my chin as she urged me to look up at her, gave me the strenght that I needed to finally opened my eyes and meet her gaze.

The pain, the guilt and affliction that I saw covering her face and clouding her usually bright green eyes, transfixed me.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry Piper... I really am." She apologized, her voice so deep and hoarse, filled with so much guilt that made me ache. "The last thing I wanted was to have you worried." The sincerity of her words hit me right in the chest, and my heart fluttered when I heard her saying that as she tucked with such tenderness a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

As I looked her in the eyes and watched all those emotions flashing in them, the need to confess and reveal to her exactly how much she meant to me, how devastated I would have been if... _something would have happened to her..._ and how the only thought of not seeing her ever again was simply inconceivable in my mind, presented not for the first time.

But just like any other time, the words remained stuck in my throat; too overwhelmed by the force of that same persistent, undying emotion that I felt for the injured raven haired woman in front of me.

She was still looking at me with pleading eyes, silently and patiently waiting for me to forgive her. But there was nothing to forgive...

"I'm just incredibly happy to know you are okay, Alex. Right now, nothing else matters to me..."

But she shook her head, a sad smile tugging briefly at her lips before she argued.

"How you feel _matters to me_ , Piper. And it's only my fault for all of... _this,_ " She blamed herself as she gestured around the hospital room. "And for having you so worried... If it wasn't for Nicky-" Before she could continue, I silenced her with another kiss. And this time, I didn't limit myself to keep it tender and innocent...

It was hard, deep and full of passion, because I wanted to feel her, and I wanted to push aside all those dark thoughts that her words had inevitably brought up.

I knew exactly what she meant; it was the same thought that had been floating around my head for all the previous day, but I couldn't bear to hear it from her.

It would have been too much.

"Please..." I begged, whispering against her lips when I pulled back from the kiss. "Please, don't say it."

When I looked up, understanding was shining in her eyes, and in that moment, as she swallowed hard and nodded, I saw exactly the same fear and pain that I felt inside of me, along with the same deep emotion that kept beating in my heart for her.

She shifted in the bed, scooting a little more to the side to make some space, and the gesture, accompanied with the tentative, almost timid smile that she gave me, was a pretty clear invitation; an invitation that I couldn't have declined for anything in the world.

I lay down beside her, thankful that it was her uninjured side but unable to not be extra careful anyway as I rested my head between her chest and shoulder, closing my eyes and letting out a soft sigh of contentment when I felt her start playing with my hair.

A deep chuckle rumbled in her chest at my reaction when I snuggled to stay just a bit closer to her, taking her other hand in mine to play with her long fingers, much like I had been doing for all the previous afternoon while she was sleeping.

We remained there, in the most comfortable silence, just enjoying a peaceful moment where all the questions could wait and there were just us; taking comfort in the close proximity of the other for a few minutes until I remembered something.

"There is something I wanted to give you." I announced softly, breaking the silence as my hand reached into the pocket of my jeans.

"Oh? What is it? Asked a mildly surprised Alex, watching me as I pulled out the interested item, the one that I meant to give her when she would have returned, letting it drop gracefully into her hand after a brief moment of hesitation.

 **. . .**

The silver necklace dropped silently in the center of my cupped hand, making me furrow my eyebrows as I wondered what the small round medallion hooked to it represented.

I turned my head to look at Piper, noticing the way she was biting softly on her bottom lip and looking down as she played nervously with her hands.

The brief moment of hesitation that she had showed just a second before she decided to give me the necklace wasn't lost on me, and my curiosity to know what the emblem on it was about, grew even more.

I pulled down my glasses from where they were resting on the top of my head to fix them on the bridge of my nose as I brought my hand closer, letting the thin, simple, yet elegant silver chain fall from the back of my hand as the medallion rested right in the center, holding it as if I was preparing to read a book.

I glanced briefly at Piper another time, but she was still avoiding my gaze, so, with a deeper frown of both confusion and just a hint of concern I shifted it to look at the object in my hand, and as soon as I recognized the engraved figures represented on it, my eyes widened and my lips parted slightly to take in a small, much needed sip of air.

"I was on my way to the Museum yesterday when I saw it in a stand, and it had immediately caught my attention." Piper's soft barely audible voice pulled me out from my stupor only momentarly, but long enough to meet her gaze even if for just a second as she concluded. "As soon as I saw it, I thought about you..."

Even if the light shining in her clear blue eyes was breathtakingly intense and made me desire nothing more than to just keep looking at her, my gaze returned on the item resting in my hand.

"She is-" Piper was ready to reveal to me the identity of the image on the medallion, but there was no need. I would have recognized that feminine figure anywhere.

"Diana..." I concluded for her with a feeble voice. "The goddess of the hunt."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Piper nod at my side. "Mainly, yes..." Her tone was soft, a gentle caress in my ears as I examined the necklace properly.

The elegant and sinuous figure of the goddess was represented naked with only the few characteristical elements that made her recognizable. A bow resting in one hand, the leash of the hound at her feet in the other.

I traced the outline of those figures with my thumb, noticing the way the hound pulled vigorously at the leash, holding just his posterior paws on the ground as he lauched himself forward, only restrained by his mistress whom seemed to contain him, even if just barely.

I knew that sensation...

I knew the feeling of that creature, that beast agitating, growling and showing the fangs during an hunt.

And I knew exactly what it meant doing everything to try to restrain that supreme, supernatural, wild force.

I had lived with it for such a long time that had become a part of me.

Inseparable.

Like my heart from my chest...

Yet, I couldn't help but recognize that lately, that familiar sensation had quietened, the thirst I was used to feel had reduced, and the beast inside me had stopped pulling so forcefully at the heavy, thick chains built with my control; it had stopped trying to break free. Now, it remained sit obediently, and silently, like pet.

Fight all those violent, wild sensations wasn't always easy, and part of me was relieved for that change. The other part however... Hated it.

I didn't have to look far to find the reason, the answer for that change of behavior.

Bacause in that moment, she was lying right at my side.

My gaze returned to Piper and a silent look of deep understanding was exchanged between us.

...She had felt that presence in me, too.

But aside from that, the real meaning because she gave me such gift could have been just one; after the latest events and with me resting on a hospital bed, I knew she had understood exactly how dangerous my job could be...

She had given me this necklace for protection.

I had to fight back tears when I thought once again about the name of the goddess.

Even if it was spelled slightly differently because of its origins, the meaning didn't change.

I thought about my mother, about the strange dream I had when I knew I was dying, remembering her words, the ones she had spoken as she encouraged me to listen to Nicky, that I had to wake up...

That part didn't feel like a dream.

And in that moment, as I looked at the thoughtful, meaningful present that Piper had given to me, I wondered if what they said was true... If our loved ones kept watching over us even after they left.

I never truly believed in those things; I didn't have a reason to when all I had known for a long time had been nothing but death and pain.

But in that moment, I couldn't not consider it, and for once, that thought didn't seem so absurd and irrational.

Despite my best efforts, a single salty tear escaped and ran down my cheek.

"Alex..." Piper noticed it immediately of course and she pulled herself up a little on her side to face me better.

Wipe away the glistening trail left by that tear was easy, but I had to swallow hard several times to get rid of the new painful lump that had formed in my throat before I felt comfortable enough to turn and meet the concerned expression on Piper's face.

"Are you okay?" She asked tentatively, placing a gentle comforting hand on my shoulder and rubbing it up and down my upper arm, slowly, in a soothing way.

I only nodded, giving her a small smile, that even if it was sad, it was genuine.

"Thank you," I said hearing how hoarse had become my voice. "It's beautiful..." I added sincerely when my gaze returned to the necklace in my hand, running my thumb on the engraved figures.

The feeling of her hand slipping into mine made me look up at her once again, I could see perfectly well how, under that tender smile, she still looked somehow puzzled by my reaction.

She looked at me with a heartbreaking combination of adoration and apprehension, and this time, for how unbelievably nervous and scared had me the only thought of doing what I had discussed with Nicky the previous night, I knew that I needed to give her an explaination, _confess_ to her something that I was deeply afraid would have changed everything between us.

I took in a shaky breath, feeling as my heart started to beat faster with a sense of anguish.

"Piper?" I called her name, but she already had my complete attention. "There is something that I have to tell you and that you need to know..."

Find the courage to say those words wasn't easy, but once they were out, I knew that I wouldn't have been able to take them back; it was a way to trap myself and force me to say what I needed to.

And Piper, being the smart brilliant young woman I knew, understood immediately what I meant with those words. She knew it had to do with the reason why I was injured and was lying in that hospital bed.

But I didn't expect her to say what she said next as she looked at me with nothing but reassurance and adoration, something that made what I was going to reveal even more difficult.

"Alex... There's no need for you to say anything. You don't have to-"

"You're right," I interupped her with a nod, looking her right in the eyes, looking into those beautiful clear blue eyes and watching all the emotions flashing into them.

"But I can't keep this from you, Piper." I croaked as I started to caress her fingertips with my thumb.

"Not anymore..." I continued after a brief pause with a shake of my head. "I know so much about you, yet you know so little about me... It's not fair. You need to know. You _deserve_ to know..."

It was only when I saw a very particular light in her eyes that I realized that she wanted to know; of course she did... But just like me, she was afraid. She was afraid of what I would have revealed to her, and I was afraid by what her reaction would have been.

But I couldn't permit to my fear to have the better on me.

Not knowing from where I should have began, I started from the beginning of my previous life. Piper's attention was completely on me; her eyes never leaving my face, her hand never letting go of mine.

"I'm a former FBI Special Agent..." That first part was easy enough.

I told her about my years spent with the Feds, about how I met Nicky, and she let me speak, freely, without interrupting, only listening with attention to what I was saying, but I could say that she didn't seem so surprised to hear which was my precedent job.

However, when I arrived right in the middle of my tale, that part, was the one where things became more diffucult for me. "A few years ago, Nicky and I have... _compromised_... a very important case, and we have been both thrown out from the Bureau." I chose my words carefully; I didn't reveal which case, what happened or how seriously I had compromised it; for how much I knew that what happened to my mother was a fact that couldn't have been left out from what I was confessing to Piper given how strongly it had affected my consequent decisions, I couldn't go back there in that moment.

I could see the questions written on Piper's face, but I couldn't relive all of that.

It would have been to much.

And instead of giving me the strenght to continued, it would only have destroyed the resolution that I felt and that I needed more than anything in that moment.

She didn't need to know the details, she didn't need to listen to the nightmare I had lived or hear about which was the exact reason why I had been thrown out from the Bureau. Maybe one day I would have told her... But not now.

"Six years have passed since then," I said taking in a new, deep, shaky breath as I prepared myself for what was going to come next. Piper's hold on my hand tightened a little more, almost imperceptibly, but enough to let me know that even she was feeling nervous, or maybe she was just trying to give me a bit of courage with that light squeeze before I continued. "And for the last five, I've worked with many international intelligence agancies and different governments."

For the first time, since I started my long monologue, she spoke. Her voice hesitant, yet it held just the right amount of curiosity that I would have expected as she asked me "And what do you do for them?" For a moment, for as brief as it was, I could have sworn that I had seen her eyes widen ever so slightly as if realization had sunk in her before I actually answered, only to see them widen visibly when, without me even realizing it, the most difficult words and the most dreaded ones I had to say, slipped from my lips, quietly yet clearly.

"These Agencies hire me with specific contracts to find and terminate the top most wanted, most dangerous criminals of the world."

An infinite, agonizing moment of silence followed that seemed to last for an hour.

I held my breath for all the time, feeling my heart jumping furiously against my ribcage as I watched closely Piper's reaction.

Her lips parted, and she blinked a few times, shaking her head as if she had heard wrong.

And even if I knew that she had understood immediately what I had just told her, she couldn't help but ask another time as a definitive confirmation. "Y-You m-mean...?"

Her voice trailed off as soon as I nodded. "Yes," I confirmed looking right into her wide eyes full of disbelief. "I'm a government assassin."

I could have used another word, adorned it in some way to make it sound less harsh and ... _aggressive_... but whatever other term I would have used, it wouldn't have changed what I was and what I did.

As I expected, Piper stiffened at my side for the briefest moment at the sound of that word, but it wasn't that the reaction that filled me with an overwhelming fear and nervousness a second later.

It was hear her bewildered, almost scared "Oh God..." and feel her hand, her warm comforting hand slipping from mine before she pulled herself up and put more distance between us.

I couldn't believe how much I missed that simple touch or how devastating was for me to watch as she stood from the bed and looked at me with wide incredulous eyes.

I remained there, almost paralized by what I was seeing, unable to form a single word, until I saw her picking up her coat from the back of a chair with trembling hands.

It was like watching a scene in slow motion, but as soon as I realized that all of it was real, and that the reaction I feared the most was exactly the same one that Piper was having and that looked like she was really getting ready to leave, for the first time after so many years,

I panicked. "Piper wai- ARGH!"

A scream burned my throat as the pain in my leg ran up to my spine and reached my brain with a brutal stab when I tried to get out of the bed with the intention to stop her.

"Alex!" She was at my side a second later as I panted, gasped, trying to take in some air, feeling drops of sweat gathering on my forehead as I grimaced despite my best efforts to ignore the pain.

The incredulosity was wiped away from her face in a blink and replaced by the most sincere look of concern when she saw me sat up on the bed, placing her hands on my shoulders to make me lay down once again; a command that my too weak body couldn't fight in that moment. Didn't matter how strong my resolution was.

"You can't move so fast with your injury Alex, you'll hurt yourself!" She admonished me, a convincing hint of anger in her voice, but the way she pulled back the sweaty hair from my forehead with her hand, was a touch of pure gentleness and it was filled with sentiment, the same one that I saw reflected in her blue eyes when I begged her with a breathless, barely audible "Please... Stay."

She stroked my cheek with her knuckles as she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to contain the tears that I could see welling up in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry... But I can't right now Alex... I-I need some time."

In that moment, as soon as she finished her sentence and her words sunk into me, I felt something crack open in my chest, but when she leaned in and kissed me deeply one last time before she left, in that kiss I felt every single one of her emotions. And among all those emotions, I could feel the apology it held, but most of all, the promise in there.

With that kiss she told me that what she felt for me had not changed, that she still wanted it. But that she was scared.

And deep down, I couln't blame her for that; after all, there was a reason because I was keeping my profession hidden from her... But it still hurt.

What had started like a pleasant morning, considering what had happened to me the previous day, ended right like another bad dream... And in all of that, the most painful, agonizing thing that hit me so hard and devastatingly, was to witness the moment when I saw her exit from that hospital room, having no idea how or even if I should have stopped her.

I didn't even have time to process what had happened when, just a few moments later, I saw Nicky walk in from that same door. "Yo Al," She greeted me when she noticed that I was awake. "I've just seen Piper down the hallway..." Her voice trailed off as soon as she took a few steps closer and noticed the look on my face.

"What happened?" She asked worried when she reached my side.

I just shrugged my shoulders, shaking my head; my face contorted with the same pain that I felt in my chest as I answered to my friend with a feeble, croaky voice. "The inevitable..."

Nicky sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "You told her." It wasn't a question, she understood immediately what all of this was about.

And since I didn't trust my voice to be steady enough, I just nodded, feeling as tears welled up in my eyes when Nicky sat on the edge of the bed and took me into a side hug, letting my head to drop on her shoulder to cover the look on my face and my tears from her.

"She just needs time Alex... It's a pretty big bomb to digest in just a few minutes, you know? And she is just a kid..."

As she reassured me, rubbing my arm comfortingly, I found myself replaying what Piper told me right before she left, _hoping_ that my friend was right.

"Just give her time to process all of this... She will come back to you."

After a few moments of silence and a few more attempts, I finally managed to find my voice.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked as I shifted my gaze down to my hand, looking at the necklace that she gave me, tracing the figures with my thumb and wondering if that one would have been the last memory that I would have had of her.

Nicky's didn't make me wait, and she offered me an answer without even having to think about it.

"Because I've watched her staying here for hours, I saw the way she was looking at you, the way she held your hand and never let go of it even when she feel asleep here. I saw how incredibly worried she was about you Al..."

I wiped away the tears from under my glasses before I pulled myself up from my friend's shoulder to look at her with a frown, having no idea where she wanted to arrive with all of this, but before I could ask anything, she concluded with an encouraging smile on her lips and an absolute confident tone in her voice that only made the blow of what she said next, a thosand times more powerful, leaving me breathless and with a racing heart fluttering wildly in my chest.

"And I've seen how much she loves you."

* * *

 **I guess that we all know** _ **exactly**_ **how much Piper tends to run away when things becomes a little** _ **difficult**_ **, right guys? But fear not ;)**

 **PS. For those who are interested, the goddess Diana's necklace esists for real and there are a few ones that are represented just like the one described in this chapter... Just to let you know :)**


	23. Chapter 23

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry about the delay guys, I had a very long very busy week, but I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry ;) In fact I have a very _very_ long chapter ready for you right here :)

Oh, another thing... As you may have noticed, Alex's part tends to be always a little longer respect Piper's, well this chapter is no exception, actually, Alex's POV is even longer this time but only because... You'll find out :P

Enjoy

* * *

Five days.

Five days had passed from last time I had seen Alex; from the morning when I fled, leaving behind the injured woman lying on a hospital bed, who looked more broken and wounded after she saw me pulling away from her and leave, than how I had seen her the first time I entered in that hospital room and saw the terrible conditions she was in.

The beautiful, raven haired, green-eyed, charming woman for whom my sentiments had grown exponentially in the last couple of weeks, had revealed the part of her life that she had kept hidden from me under a thick black veil.

For how creative my theories about which her possible profession could have been, the one that I heard falling so quietly from her lips, had never, _ever_ , crossed my mind for not even a second.

To say that that revelation had shaken me to the core wouldn't have been enough to describe what I felt in the seconds that followed after her words sunk into me.

It left me incredulous beyond belief.

Unbelievably shocked.

 _An assassin..._ I thought swallowing hard before I stood from the chair in front of my desk, no longer seeing the point to try to keep studying when my attention was nowhere to be found and my thoughts were obviously elsewhere, and had been like that for the past five days.

Five days spent without seeing her, without hearing her deep hoarse voice, feel the warmth of her body or the gentle and secure touch of her hands on my skin...

Five days filled with guilt and a new, stronger sense of nausea that assaulted me everytime that I thought about the way I left; with her looking so vulnerable, afraid, wounded inside and out in that hospital bed that seemed to swallow her suddenly fragile figure, leaving her with no other choice but to watch me as I exited from that room.

Yet, her presence had never left me.

She kept hunting me along with my guilt.

My thoughts always found a way to bring me to her, and sometimes, as I closed my eyes for just a moment and replayed the memories in my head, I could have sworn that I smelled her intoxicating scent, heard her deep humorous chuckle rumbling in her throat, felt the ghost of her touch on my skin, followed by the whisper of a kiss on my lips.

It felt so real, so authentic, that it startled me, but when my eyes snapped open, just like I expected, I saw that no one was standing in front of me.

I was alone in my small bedroom.

Alone.

And incredibly lonely.

I ran my hands through my hair as closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear my mind from those images without any success, knowing that nothing would have sent them away or reduced the sensation that kept agonizing me from the inside, spreading painfully in my chest and feeling the way my heart ached for every minute I spent away from her.

I had pulled away from her arms; from the place where I felt comfortable, warm, safe and cherished like no one else had ever made me feel before in my life, not realizing at the moment how painful it would have been to leave her and, inevitably, leave back a piece of my heart.

It was becoming more and more difficult with every passing minute to not hear from her; even worse than when I was worrying myself because I didn't know where she was.

Now I knew where she was, or at least I hoped...

I hoped that she was feeling better and that the doctors had released from the hospital.

I hoped that she was at home and taking care of herself, knowing that if she wasn't, her best friend Nicky was probably there to remind her that she needed to be careful.

Even if the petite woman was trying not to show it, during the ride to the hospital I had noticed how concerned she was about her friend, and it was impossible to not find it deeply touching to see how much she was worried for and how much she cared about Alex.

I had forgotten what it was like to have friends and a family that cared so much about me...

I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips when I thought about Alex dealing with an injury; there was something about the controlled raven haired woman that didn't make her look like the type that would have taken things much easy or even just stayed in bed to recover for the time that it was necessary. But said smile on my lips was wiped immediately away and replaced by a much darked look of concern.

 _I really hope that she is doing better,_ I thought releasing a shaky breath and feeling as my heart started beating just a little faster with a new, stronger sense of anguish.

I had to blink a few times to clear my vision, but when I succeded and I focused of the surrounding, my gaze dropped on my phone resting on the desk beside my open books and notes, and in that moment, the same persistent thought crossed my mind as I started chewing nervously on my bottom lip.

Contless times I had reached for my phone during those endless past few days, thinking about calling her, ask her how she was doing, hear if she was feeling better... Wanting to hear her deep voice caress my ear and feel my heart swell in my chest with relief.

But everytime, in every single occasion where I had found myself ready to press the call icon, something always stopped me. Just like that same _something_ stopped me to call a cab and ride for all the 45 minutes outside the city to her mansion. And I had thought about it... More than just once.

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration because I couldn't understand what was making me so hesitant.

But I didn't have to search so deep down to find the answer... I knew exactly which it was.

I just didn't want to think about it.

 _...It simply wasn't fair._

Because of the way I left, I felt like I didn't have the _right_ to know how she was doing.

The pain and the guilt that assaulted me everytime I thought about how incredibly hurt, vulnerable and defenseless she looked when she saw me getting ready to leave, didn't allow me to press that small icon on my phone or raise my hand to hail a cab.

Even from my memories I could still see that compelling light in her bright green eyes fading away, slowly.

...I had never felt like this before.

I had left behind everyone I knew; my friends, my family... Because they didn't support my decision, yet, not even then, when I had taken the most difficult choice of my life and chosen to take the path that I had decided to follow and that I knew it would have had serious consequences, I felt so lost and upset, with the deepest sense of emptiness consuming the remaining part of me from the inside.

At first I thought that I was running away from Alex because I was shocked, and a small part of me felt even somehow hurt, and angry.

I had no right to be angry at her. And after I searched through all those contrasting sensations that I was feeling, I knew that I wasn't... But, for as much as I tried to, I couldn't keep hidden from myself the reason that had me flee from that hospital room.

The one that had surfaced only when the shock and incredulosity had slowly faded away, even if not completely.

My legs felt suddenly weak and I had to take a seat on the edge of my bed as I closed my eyes and released a new shaky breath when I thought about that reason.

The truth, was that I was afraid...

Not of Alex, of course.

I had no reason to even think something like that; she had shown nothing but immense care and gentleness towards me and _never_ , _ever_ , a minimal hint of violence or a moment when she had lost control, not even once. And what she confessed to me certainly hadn't changed that fact or had me consider that ridiculous thought.

She may had been a little rough during a few of our... _encounters_... but it was always just an harmless show of power that I had always and only associated to how passionate and ardent she was; a side of her that I enjoyed so much more than what I wanted to admit to myself.

I adored the way she made me feel when we were together in such an intimate way, with nothing between us but our naked, sweaty bodies rubbing against each other, bringing an ecstasy that knew no end. She had woken up in me sensations and emotions that I thought weren't even possible to feel.

A warm blush spread on my cheeks and I had to shift in my seat in order to ignore the familiar throbbing sensation that had started between my legs when I looked at my bed and a few intense images of that night that we had spent together there in my small apartment flashed in my mind.

Alex was an amazing lover.

An insatiable, passionate, selfless lover.

I had noticed it since the beginning, since the first time I arrived at her mansion as an escort, how much she enjoyed to just take her time, how much she liked to tease me and watch me writhing in the pleasure under her accurate, magnificent touch.

One of Alex's arrogant, seductive, cocky smirks, for how much I denied it, was enough to have me dripping with desire in a matter of seconds. But feeling her on top of me, kissing me deeply, and paying attention to every inch of my body with such tenderness... Made my heart fluttered wildly in my chest and melted me slowly from the inside everytime.

Nothing would have ever compared to what she did to me or to the effect that her touch had on me.

And _no one_ would have _ever_ compared with her.

But it wasn't just because of the sex...

Sex was just a pleasant way to find a release with someone.

But that deeper, overwhelming emotion that in the last few days had become a throbbing pain in my chest because of the stupid improvised choice that I had taken and that had been lead by what I was feeling when she had revealed to me her profession, _that_ emotion... Was unique.

What had started like any other job, along the way, the relationship between Alex and I had changed and shifted into something I would have never expected; something so deep and pure that I didn't know I could have ever found. Especially not with a client.

No... Alex wasn't the reason because I was scared.

A freezing shiver ran up to my spine and had me wrap my arms around myself to bring some warmth when I thought about the real reason because I was afraid, the reason that had me so unbelievably anxious and worried.

It was because of the violent nature of her job.

For the first time I had realized exactly how dangerous it was, how she risked her life on a daily basis to hunt down criminals that no one else had the courage to look for.

It was impossible to not notice the spark that shone into those green eyes, the hint of danger and power that was always alive in them...

Now I knew that that spark, was only the smaller, visible part of the roaring fire that burned inside of her.

I was afraid because I didn't know how things would have evolved between us if every day that she spent away for _work_ I had to wonder where she was, what she was doing, if she was okay...

A lump formed in my throat, but try to swallow it down turned out to be useless as a new one formed when the next thought brought even tears to my eyes.

 _I would have to wonder every day is she was still alive._

The way I left from the hospital may had been rash, an impetuous decision, but even with those reasons floating around my head, I knew it hadn't been the best choice I had taken.

 _I should have never left..._

"I should have never ran away from you, Alex." I whispered, hearing how the words echoed loudly in my small bedroom.

When I raised my gaze and my eyes fixed on my phone, for the second time in the last few minutes, the temptation to call her was so strong that I almost gave in.

 _It was night. And it was pretty late._ Those were the excuses that I found to not reach for my phone; my cowardice and emotional exhaustion were having the better on me.

I waited a few moments, hoping that the sensation would have gone away, but it didn't, so I stood from the bed with a frustrated sigh, making my way towards the closet to find some kind of a distraction as I opened it, only to regret my decision when I felt the old familiar sense of nausea return to assault me more violently than ever.

The last thing I wanted to think about in that moment was the big gala that I had to attend to the following night; even if it wasn't one of _those_ assignments, I felt sick to my stomach anyway.

It would have been my last work, I had promised to myself.

In another week I would have started at the Museum and I was thrilled about it.

A small smile tugged at my lips at the thought, but it turned into a sad one when the person that had recommended me for that job crossed my mind once again...

She was everywhere even when she was nowhere near me.

My heart skipped a painful beat when, while I was looking through my dresses for something elegant that I could have wore during the party for the following night, my gaze dropped on the red one shoulder cocktail dress that I had worn when Alex had invited me to the private exhibition of Impressionist paintings.

My fingers lingered on the soft fabric and I could hear Alex's deep voice whispering from my memories.

 _"You look stunning kid..."_

It took me an eternity to recover from that brief but intense flashback, but when I snapped back into reality and remembered what I was doing, even if the dress was one of my favourites and most elegant, I decided not to wear it.

Only the idea felt... _wrong_.

The last memory I had of it was so pleasant; it was some sort of memento from a night that had changed so much between us. Wearing it during a night where I was paid to escort someone else was unthinkable, just like it was the whole idea of going in the first place.

Given my emotional condition I didn't feel like pretending a smiling face for an entire evening while I was surrounded by the most powerful and rich people that New York had to offer, but I couldn't turn down Sylvia's appointment; I had already said yes, and now it was too late to cancel anyway.

As I closed the wardrobe, my thoughts returned immediately to Alex, to what had happened.

I wondered many times what could possible made her take the decision to start with such job; I could tell that she had kept something from me during her _confession_ , I could see the sorrow and pain clouding her eyes and filling her deep voice as she talked.

Whatever it had been, it had probably changed Alex's life forever, and honestly, if only the thought was making the raven haired woman whom had always been the portrait of control and confidence, look suddenly so upset, distressed and on the verge of tears, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to hear that part of the story... But at the same time I couldn't help but wonder what made her suffer so much in the past.

So many were my questions...

Yet, the only answer I knew, the most important one that I had to answer to myself but that I had no doubt about, was that I wanted her.

I had made a terrible mistake by leaving like I did.

But even if I left, I had never _left her_.

I just hoped that, even if it had taken me five days to go through the initial shock that her confession had caused in me, she would have forgiven me or at least listened to my explaination, to the reason that made me run away.

A sad hopeful smile tugged at my lips as I reached my desk and moved aside a few of my notes, revealing the comic that she had given to me with her idea for my thesis, unable to not notice some sort of resemblance between Alex and the heroine that was standing in the center of the cover in a proud, triumphant position.

I would have called her right after the gala night, I decided, knowing that I still had a few things to think about and not wanting to rush into something I didn't feel completely ready for.

Hoping, that in the meantime, she would have waited for me...

Because I didn't want to give up on what we had.

I didn't want to give up on _us_.

We would have figured something out.

 **. . .**

"Are you supposed to be doing that?"

A voice that I hadn't heard for quite some time reached me above the sound of my heavy breathing as I finished my last set of pull ups before I climbed down carefully from the wall bars.

"Probably not." I answered as I wiped the sweat from my neck with a towel. "Nicky wasn't so pleased when she saw me here. But it's not like I'm doing squats or lunges."

I concluded as I turned to look towards where my guest was standing leaned gracefully against the door frame.

Sylvia's smirking face greeted me, her eyes travelling up and down my body like I had seen her doing many times, and I couldn't help but smirk back at her with a shake of my head in amusement.

"Well, _that_ , it's not a show I would like to miss, believe me." She teased me as she took a couple of steps closer; the sound of her high heels on the hardwood floor echoing in the large room that I had equipped and used as a gym. "But I think I will settle for just look at what I have in front of me," Her eyes continued their slow travel up to my body, starting from my bare feet to my exposed legs, lingering a few seconds on the large bendage wrapped around my thigh before she continued her scrutiny over my gym shorts and tank top to look at my glistening, sweaty arms and shoulders. "For now." She concluded with a wink before licking seductively her lips.

Suddenly, my breathing was labored for two different reasons, but luckily, I managed to recover pretty quickly as I walked towards the small couch on the corner of the room, trying to contain my limp even if I there was no reason to since I knew that she had noticed the medical bandage as soon as she saw me. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you Sylvia, but what are you doing here?"

I heard her steps behind me as she followed me towards the couch. "Well, since I haven't heard from you in at least a couple of weeks, I thought that there was definitely something wrong."

I couldn't help but laugh at that; Sylvia was used to hear from me two, three times a week, of course she found it suspiciously odd that I hadn't called her at all lately.

"So what," I asked through a wince as I gripped the arm of the couch for balance before taking a seat, remaining slightly surprised by Sylvia's unexpected show of kindness as she helped me down on it. "You decided to come here to check for yourself if I was still alive? Were you worried?" I teased her, unable to resist the temptation to lift playfully my eyebrows at her, watching the way she narrowed her eyes in respose before her gaze returned to my bandaged thigh, noticing the small almost imperceptible crease of concern that formed between her sculpted eyebrows.

"It seems like I had a reason to after all..." She pointed out tilting her chin to my wounded leg. "What happened there?"

I ran a hand through my sweaty hair before I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly as to dismiss her question. "Compared to what happened to the other guy it's nothing. I just have to be careful for a few more days. The son of a bitch instead, is in a fridge with a new shiny Y incision on the chest."

I deliberately left out the part where I could have probably be in a fridge too if it wasn't for my hyper protective best friend.

A moment of silence followed as I started to unroll the supporting bandages around my wrists. The muscles on my back and shuolders were burning for exertion after my work out, but I welcomed the sensation.

When Sylvia spoke, her voice sounded so soft and so strangely uncertain that she managed to surprise me once again.

"Does it hurt?"

It was probably the first time since she entered in the room that I stopped to do what I was doing to look up at her right in the eyes.

The light of concern that I saw in her usual mischievous silver pools, was authentic and I found myself nodding before I even realized it.

"A little," I admitted honestly. "But I'm trying to rid myself of the painkillers..."

 _The pain in my leg and the insane itch due to the healing process was something, of course; the injury I had substained wasn't a scratch._

My gaze dropped as I finished to unroll the protective bandage around my wrists before placing it aside, trying to ignore the way my chest constricted. _But the one I felt ripping my heart into pieces was another kind of pain;_ one that no painkiller would ever been able to reduce enough to make me feel numb to everything else.

The redhead's deep humurous chuckle pulled me out from a thought that crossed my mind infinite times during the day only to remind me of both my physical and emotional condition.

I may not have lost my life, but because of my last mission, I felt like I had lost a piece of myself anyway.

Sylvia took a seat right beside me.

Very close to me.

And I let her come near.

"Of course you do, Captain Control," The amusement returned to fill her smooth voice as much as it returned to shine in her clear silver eyes as she teased me, glad for the distraction it provided. "I would be surprised if you wouldn't have..."

Sylvia knew perfectly well how everything in my life was around my legendary control; she didn't know which my job was, but I was sure that after all this time she had probably made a few ideas about it.

She was a very smart woman, and even if she was curious, she knew how to keep things for herself.

"You know," She continued shifting to stay just a little closer to me, so close that the first wave of her scent reached my nostrils; light, fresh, yet strong, and so familiar.

It stirred something inside me immediately.

It evoked nights spent in pure pleasure between games of power.

"There are a few other options if you want to keep under control the pain without taking pills," She advised as she leaned in. My gaze shifted down when I felt her placing a gentle hand on my bare uninjured thigh and started stroking the skin there with her thumb in a slow movement. "Adrenaline has the same results with even much more benefits and no side effects."

I should have expected this...

Sylvia wasn't the kind of person that wouldn't have taken advantage from a situation if this one was placed right in front of her on a silver plate.

She had probably noticed as soon as she entered in the room that I wasn't in my best form. And not only phisically.

Her entire job was based on getting know persons by only looking at them; know what they wanted, what they desired the most... And she was damn good at it. Sylvia was a woman of words, _mostly,_ but I wasn't, and she knew that about me; what she was offering to me in that moment, was another kind of language, the only one I ever had and felt more than comfortable to share with her during the past year.

A release of tension, purely physical. No questions asked. No trouble.

Ever.

But she knew there was a problem...

Her voice was becoming deliberately lower, sultry, more deep and seductive, and her hand was travelling up my inner thigh, slowly, exploring the slightly sweaty skin there with such accurancy and attention that I felt every nerve of my body responding to that soft, confident touch.

Somehow, between a pant and the other, I managed to find my voice, which sounded so low and husky that it didn't even seem mine anymore. "I've just worked out..." I offered lamely referring to the release of adrenaline she mentioned.

Another chuckle caressed my ear in response as her other hand moved gently aside a strand of my hair before a pair of warm soft lips placed a kiss under my jaw.

At the contact, my eyes fluttered shut and my breath hitched in my throat.

"Oh believe me, I can see that," The redhead whispered hotly before I felt the tip of her tongue tracing my jaw line and tasting the salty sweat that had gathered there. "And I can taste it too..."

Feeling her warm breath caress the side of my neck, then her lips brushing against my ear, sent a powerful shiver down my spine; she knew exactly what kind of effect she was having on me. And just like any other time, I knew she was enjoying this very much.

"But I can also feel how tense you are, Alex." Her voice had become purely seductive now; dripping with lust, and it was holding so many promises that it was impossible to remain impassive as she talked. "Maybe there is another kind of _work out_ we could try together to make you feel better... What do you say, sweet thing?"

My hands gripped the cushions of the couch under me with so much force that I thought I would have ripped off the fabric when I felt her cupping me between my legs and drawing slow circles with her fingertips through my shorts, putting a light pressure on my clit as she sucked my earlobe in her mouth.

 _That talented mouth,_ I thought as a breathless moan slipped without my consent from my parted lips... _Those skilled fingers._

A new warm shiver ran down my spine when I thought about how much pleasure she had been able to bring me during all our _encounters_.

It would have been incredibly naive from me to think that her touch wouldn't have had the same effect it had on me every other time, as if in just a few weeks my body would have forgotten how to respond to her when she had spent the last year getting to know evey inch of my body, knowing exactly how to touch me, where to touch me and with what amount of pression.

Sylvia knew all my weaknesses, all the things that could drive me crazy with desire, and she was pushing all the right buttons to start my engine.

My throat went suddenly dry, my heart started beating a familiar rhythm as my core couldn't help but clench in response to her teasing movement.

She shifted in her seat to straddle my uninjured thigh and my hand flew immediately around her waist on their own will, re-mapping through the dress that she was wearing the curves that I found there as she kept placing kisses along my throat, my neck and jaw until she reached my ear.

"I know you want it Alex... Don't try to resist it."

 _Fuck._

The hold I had on her slender hips tightened involuntarily just a little after she whispered those words in my ear, hearing as a soft moan escaped from her lips in response to my slightly more possessive grip.

I groaned when she put a bit more of pressure between my legs, never stopping the slow, perfect movement of her fingertips above my clit through the shorts I was wearing. It wasn't enough to send me over the edge but it was enough to make my body desire for much more as my hips started to follow her rhythm.

Unable to resist, I hiked up the hem of her dress finding the warm, inviting, bare skin of her thighs, smirking with satisfacion when I felt her shivering and heard the moan that she was trying to suppress, escape from her rosy lips.

"You know," She gasped hotly in my ear as I stroked her leg and pulled teasingly at the waistband of her lace underwear. "I've kind of missed you during these past few weeks Alex."

At that I let out a brief loud laugh, but when my eyes opened, I became serious once again.

Even if she had made those words sound sincere, the mischievous light in her eyes and the flirtatious smirk on her lips told me a completely different story from the one she was telling me.

"Liar," I accused her before my hand, without my consent, found its own way on the back of her neck. "You've just missed the taste of my pussy." I fisted a handful of her hair, hearing the high moan that left her throat as I pulled, hard, exposing the length of her elegant neck.

The gesture was all for show. Sylvia enjoyed very much when I was rough with her.

Just a few moments later I losened a little my grip, and when her gaze met mine, I recognized immediately the light of pure lust that I saw burning in her silver half lidded eyes.

"You know me too well." She purred with a provocative smik.

My body had stopped to listen to my head from a few minutes now, but what she said and the way she said it, was the last thing I could take.

I didn't want to think. Thought had made me weak in the last few days, reduced me into nothing. This time I just wanted to feel something. _Anything_. I wanted to regain some of the control that had I felt slipping through my fingers like sand.

Not even a second later, I pulled her forcefully down until our lips were mere inches from the ones of the other.

My eyes fluttered shut, shutting out the rest of the world for a moment, along with my thoughts and everything else that wasn't in that couch with me in that specific moment.

A low, dangerous growl rumbled in my chest, stirring something inside me when I felt her breath caressing my cheek as the woman on top of me rocked her hips forward, trying to grind her center on my thigh, but letting out a frustrated whimper when she realized that the strong grip I had on her hips didn't allow her to.

Even just the closeness, the light weight and warmth of another body on top of mine, felt so good.

So deliciously good.

I welcomed every one of those sensations and allowed them to run through me and wake up that part that had been deeply asleep as she started to leave a trail of kisses down my neck, nipping slightly the skin there only to tease me further.

In that moment, _anything_ was better than feel the emptiness that I felt growing inside me in the past few days and that had reduced me into the shadow of myself ever since _she_ left.

But suddenly, as soon as that thought crossed my mind... Something changed.

 _Everything was feeling just so incredibly good..._

A crease formed between my eyebrow when I realized that something was off.

 _But it didn't feel right._

The touch of that hand was too secure, too confident.

The lips pressed against my neck were too eager, too hungry.

The body on top of me, the one that my hands were exploring under the dress, had much more curves; it wasn't the skinny, soft one I had spent hours cherishing, getting to know it, and the one I had been paying close attention to how it responded to me.

My frown deepened further, and when I inhaled briefly through my nose, the last element that didn't resemble the one I was holding in my memories and that I had been comparing to in the last few moments, made me snap my eyes open when the fresh slightly flowery scent that filled my nostril didn't match the sweet, delicate, fruity one I knew so well.

A timid, smiling face.

Young gentle features.

Blonde hair and beautiful clear blue eyes flashed in my mind, and suddenly, all the air was sucked from my lungs.

My heart skipped a painful beat and not even a second later, I grabbed Sylvia by her arm and stopped the movement of her hand between my legs, pushing her back to put more distance between us, just barely managing to keep it somehow gentle to not risk to push her off the couch.

"What's wrong hon?" Sylvia asked a little breathless, not understanding that sudden change.

"Nothing..." I hurried to answer her feeling as my heart started racing in my chest, grateful that she had dismounted my thigh and was resting beside me as leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees, running my hands through my hair as I tried to regain control of my breathing.

I felt ashamed, guilty, and yeah... as an overwhelming sense of nausea settled in my stomach and bile rose in my throat, I felt even a bit disgusted when I realized what I was going to do.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The sudden softness and hint of concern that I heard in Sylvia's voice after the hot, arousing moment we had just experinced, didn't fail to surprise me a little, but at the moment, I had other things going through my mind to truly pay attention to it.

I just shook my head without moving from my position. "No, no I'm fine..."

It was a lie. And a very big one.

Truth was that I had never felt worse.

"I-I'm sorry Sylvia," I apologized as soon as I regained enough control to pull back and look at the confused redhead. "I don't think I can do this."

If she looked confused a second before, shock appeared on her face in the moment she heard those words leaving my lips.

"Well, this is certainly a first..." She frowned, but gratefully she didn't make a move to try to convince me to reasume what we were doing just a few moments previous, on the contrary, she put more distance between us, as if she was feeling that the proximity was no longer so welcomed.

I kept holding my head between my hands, trying to push aside the image from one of my memories where Piper was smiling at me, her eyes so bright and filled with adoration... Then the image changed, the young woman was always there, but the look on her face was completely different. Shock, disbelief and a hint of fear; the same expression that I had seen appear on her beautiful face when I revealed to her my profession.

For the hundredth time that day I felt another piece of my heart being ripped from my chest.

"Jesus Vause... What happened to you..."

The one that left Sylvia's lips, wasn't a question, and she wasn't waiting for an answer. I raised my head just in time to see her standing from the couch, shaking her head in disbelief when she saw the sorrowful look on my face that I hadn't been able to mask in anyway.

The crease between her eyebrows deepened and a genuine concern covered her face.

In over a year, she had never seen me like that, in those pitiful conditions.

No one had.

 _No one except-_

The sudden sound of a clearing throat made me turn my head in the direction of the door to notice the new presence standing in the doorway.

 _Nicky_. My loyal friend who always watched my back... And who probably had come to find me to make sure I wasn't doing anything stupid.

"Alex..." She greeted me and threw a brief glance at Sylvia.

"Uh, I see you guys have something you probably need to deal with. I'll leave you two alone." She turned to face me one last time, giving me a small, slightly sad smile before she turned to leave. "Take care Alex."

Throught the contrasting sensations that were still running inside of me, I only managed to mumble a "Thanks for the visit" in response. Watching as she walked past Nicky and the two exchanged another curious look.

This time it wasn't lost on me the small wink that Sylvia threw at my friend, nor it was the way Nicky turned so slowly to look at her retriting form as she walked down the hallway and towards the main entrance of the house.

It was quite a good distraction so I decided to take advantage and tease my friend a little since it wasn't the first time I had seen her look at Sylvia in that very particular way.

"Do you see something you like, Nichols?"

She answered me without diverting her gaze from the attractive redhead down the hallway. "Sorry, I'm not used to see her walk so straight when she leaves or with all her clothes perfectly in order... But to answer your question sister, apart for a fabulous pair of legs that go on for days, a great ass and a pair of what I imagine are the softest tits on the planet..." Before she finished, my friend turned to look at me; she didn't even pretend to make an innocent face, and the big shit-eating grin she was wearing was a good enough answer, but she concluded her sentence anyway. "Yes, I see everything I like."

I chuckled, but despite the fact that I found what she said very amusing, the humor seemed to have disappeared from me. That sensation of emptiness had returned to reclaim me with a vengeance after the brief intense moment I had with Sylvia; grateful that I had stopped her and pulled back before I would have done something so incredibly stupid that I would have certainly regretted and that I was already regretting for permitting to my wounded sentiments to have the better on me.

"Hey..." Nicky's tone changed immediately when she noticed the look on my face; every hint of amusement and playfulness wiped away in an istant. "Is everything alright Al?"

She took a seat at my side, placing a comforting hand on my bare shoulder.

During the past few days, ever since I had been dismissed from the hospital, I heard Nicky asking me that question many times. Usually, I didn't answer, my sorrowful expression was good enough for her, sometimes instead, I just limited myself to shake my head in negative. But that late afternoon, it seemed that I had reached a point where I was just a step away from crying. "No..." I whispered through the new lump that had formed in my throat.

I heard Nicky's sigh at my side. "It's going to be okay Alex... You just have to be patient She'll come back."

I couldn't help but snort at her response. "When? It's been a week Nicky! She hasn't even called..." Try to talk through the lump stuck in my throat was becoming incredibly difficult and uncomfortable, but she could tell I was angry by the tone I used even if my voice sounded suffocated by a painful grip; the same one I felt constricting around my heart.

"She needs time Al." Nicky didn't raise her voice like I did, there was no point. She kept her comforting tone; the effect it had on me was strangely soothing and managed to calm down even if just a little the storm that I was feeling inside me. "And it's not passed a week. But you have to understand that some things just needs more time... She'll come back to you."

A moment of silence followed as the same question represented in my head, bringing tears to my eyes despite my best efforts. Try to fight them back was pointless. The only thing I could do, was lean forward and place my head in my hands to try to cover them from my friend.

"What if she doesn't?" My voice was so quiet, so tentative, but at the same time emotionless, as if I had already gave up the last drop of hope I had left in me. "She doesn't have a reason to anyway."

"Don't say that." This time, Nicky's voice was filled with anger as she pulled my arm forcefully to make me raise my gaze and look at her. "She has plenty of reasons to come back, and she _will_." The hardness in her usually playful kind brown eyes, the confidence in her voice... It was like she knew that fact for sure.

I ran a hand through my slightly damp hair before I shook my head. "Now that she knows about my job..." A trembling sigh left my lips. "I can't risk her safety Nicky. What if I fuck up another time and someone comes after me? Or worst, after you or Piper?" It was a thought that made my heart race with anguish everytime, but that I couldn't ignore any longer, especially not after everything that happened.

Nicky's answer however was one I had already heard several times even before all that had happened between me and the young blonde art student, but this time, her tone was definitely angry as she almost yelled at me. "Then stop accepting contracts! Damn it Alex, after this last mission you should at least consider to stop with this job while you are still alive and in one piece!" She concluded with a gesture of her hand to point at my badly wounded leg.

But I wasn't ready to give up. Not so easily. I clenched my jaw feeling as more tears welled up in my eyes. "You know I've made a promise Nicky." I growled, but the steel in my eyes as I looked at her, didn't seem to have the same effect I was hoping; the glistening tears in my eyes betrayed me.

She shook her head at me, completely unaffected by my severe look. "You can't keep using this excuse. You have already avenged your mother's death..." A single tear slid down my cheek and I didn't even bother to wipe it away. "You have kept your promise Alex. But please, consider other options..." Nicky's voice from harsh and angry of only a few moments previous, became suddenly gentle and soft as her hand returned on my shoulder to offer me some comfort and support. "The Bureau keeps asking about you. Their offer is still standing... For the both of us. It will be like old times."

If it wasn't for the pain that I could feel starting to pulse once again in my leg, I would have stood up and started pacing. But I had to stay there, feeling the tension bubbling up more and more inside me.

I turned to look at her, at the pleading look on her face and the concern lying in her dark eyes. "Just tell me what you want Alex."

My gaze returned down to look at my clasped hands. The hands that had been stained with the blood of hundreds of unworthy lives.

 _The things I wanted..._

I closed my eyes feeling suddenly so tired, so exhausted, and mostly not physically, feeling as more bitter tears streamed silently down my cheeks.

I wanted to sleep...

I wanted to forget...

I wanted to change the past.

Burn away all my mistakes and save my mother.

But most of all... I wanted

"Piper..." I whispered softly. Her name slipping from my lips directly from my thoughts without me even realizing it.

Nicky wiped away a few tears from my chin and I opened my eyes to look at her and at the small, tentative, but sincere smile that was tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I don't want her to worry about me all the time..." I admitted as I thought about what she said to me at the hospital. "She deserves better." I said at last, nodding with conviction through a shaky breath before I swallowed hard and took a brief moment to consider the answer of the decision that was already formed in my head. "If this is also what you want, I think I'll call the Feds."

The bright, huge, joyful smile that Nicky gave me, made me laugh through my tears, and even if I shouldn't have been, when she pulled me into a tight hug, it still surprised me.

"Piper won't be the only one to not having to worry all the time abou you, sister." She added, and I smiled as I hugged her back.

"Err, no offense Alex... But I think you need a shower." She said as she pulled back, only in that moment realizing that I was still covered in sweat. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the look of light disgust on her face. "You hugged me first Nicky." I pointed out, shrugging my shoulders before I stood up from the couch with a little help from my friend, wincing just a little for the pain.

I had almost reached the door when Nicky spoke as if she had just reminded something. "Oh, I almost forgot." I turned slowly with a limp to face her, and the look she gave me, made me immediately suspicious and even a little worried. It was hard to not feel that way when she was wearing one of those broad grins, and my first impression turned out to be right when she continued. "We have both been invited to a party tomorrow night." I could have sworn that I heard my own groan of protest resonate around the room, but my friend didn't give me time to object properly; I already had half a dozen of excuses not to go. "Uh uh Alex, you are coming with me. Don't you try to sell me the excuse of your leg. If you can work out, even if just your upper part, you are perfectly able to go and show your face for at least a couple of hours. The Mayor invited you after all."

I let out a long sigh filled with frustration. I hated those events where every important person of the city was invited, but Nicky had a point; turn down such invitation would have been too rude even for me, and Nicky wouldn't have stopped to torment me until I would have given up.

And it was with immense reluctance that I gave her my confirmation with a nod. "Alright... I need to find something to wear though, I can't go with a dress and high heels with my leg in these conditions." I argued gesturing to the medical bandage wrapped around my thigh.

Nicky stood up from the couch and walked towards me, stopping right in front of me with a new brighter smile. "Ah, don't worry about that Alex. We'll find you a nice tuxedo."

I let out another humorous laugh, convinced that she was joking, but my expression didn't take long to change into an allarmed, slightly panicked one when I realized that, even if she was smiling like a Cheshire cat, she was actually dead serious.

She looked at me up and down as if she was studying me, and when her eyes returned to meet my slightly wide ones, she smiked and winked at me. "You'll look handsome."


	24. Chapter 24

Hi there!

It was very interesting to read all your reactions about the Alex-Sylvia scene -a few were actually amusing I have to say :D- but I've noticed the small friendly "discussion" that a Guest has started... And since it was an anonymous review, I'll reply here. First of all, thank you for leaving your thoughts, I understand that it must have been very _odd_ to read such scene between these two, but it wasn't much about the "cheating-thing" (which was present in a part, of course) but as another Guest said, and had noticed (as also a few others had, and also you have mentioned in a new review) the familiarity between Sylvia and Alex, the fact that Alex is feeling somehow _lost_ because she doesn't know how to deal with all these new emotions that she has started to feel, point to something deeper about her character. She was hurt, had lost the legendary control she was so proud of, and when someone is feeling like that, it's kind of natural, _human_ , to want to feel something else, _anything_ , beside the pain and grasp at the only thing she had a control on for the past year. The only familiarity she had. But she stopped it as soon as she realized that, despite what her body wanted, it felt wrong. She wants Piper, and she has regretted immediately what she was going to do with Sylvia.

I hope this explains my choices about the previous chapter :) Even if it has caused a bit of anxiety, I don't regret it ;) Thank you again for leaving your thoughts, and also thank you to all you guys for the support :D

Now, enough with the explainations... Ready for the gala night? ;)

I feel like I should write a warning for certain scene, but I don't want to spoil you the chapter... It's nothing you have to worry about guys, really, nothing graphic... Just remember that it's rated M, alright?

Enjoy

* * *

The location where the party was taking place was amazing beyond words.

I had lived in the city for the past few years and thought I had seen everything that it had to offer, but it seemed that New York could always find a way to susprise you, and the magnificent, spacious structure situated right in its center, that from the outside seemed just a regular building, was the proof of that.

The vast halls, the high ceilings, and the complessive classic interior design of the building, resembled the one of an european palace of the eighteenth century.

I remained speechless as soon as I stepped in, but tried to contain my amazement in order to not make a scene in front of what I was sure was every member of the high society; white collars and other important and powerful people.

But even if from the outside it appeared just like a very pleasant evening spent among interesting people in a beautiful building, the air was somehow filled with... pretentiousness.

And the man I was escorting that night, was the perfect example of that.

Mr. Brooks.

Or, as I had to call him for the night, Spencer.

It took me just a first look to _feel_ that there was something off with him, even if I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

He was tall, attractive, and pretty young. Not as young as I was, but still...

And he was an attorney.

A _defense_ attorney. Something that in front of the entire DA Office and many other big shots of the Police Department, made him look like one of the other few black sheeps in the great pure white flock that was present that evening.

The protectors of the Just.

The beating heart of the Big Apple.

It turned out that the _party_ was actually a charity event organized by the Mayor himself, and that explained the presence of all the important people, the monumental location and the presence of security guards in the main rooms.

The evening had everything that was needed to appear perfect and offer entertainment to the guests; there was food, drinks, and right past the incredibly vast foyer where most of the people were gathered to talk in small groups sipping champagne, there was a very large ballroom where the guests could dance whatever classic piece of music the orchestra was playing.

Nothing seemed to be missing.

However there were a few things that left me very puzzled and had me honestly pretty annoyed, and one of them, one that I asked to myself multiple times, was why someone had to pay an escort to be their companion for a charity evening when they could have offered the money used for the escort service as a donation for the cause.

I shifted my gaze to look at my side and at the man with the elegant, expensive dark suit that was offering me a glass of champagne with a perfect white smile and a suspicious glint in his brown eyes, and the same question represented. Especially someone who was so ridiculously good looking and charming...

But it wasn't long before I found out that the one he was wearing was only a mask, a facade, and that the reason because he hadn't been able to find someone who was willing to accompain him, was because he was so full of himself that was making me nauseous the more time I spent in his presence; evidently he didn't have a female companion and no one of the associates in his office had volunteered to go with him.

The fact that he was there to donate to an important cause was at least a point in his favor I thought, and something that made him look less... _slimy_. But that idea lasted in my mind only until I noticed how he was trying so desperately to befriend the few Judges that were presents.

He needed just a young woman, nicely dressed, and with a certain education to show as a trophy for the night to make his good impression.

It disgusted me, and it made me ask over and over why I had accepted, but I found some kind on consolation when I saw that I wasn't the only one; a bunch of other boys and girls from Sylvia's Agency were present too as guests of who I suspected were other important, influential persons, and even though we couldn't stop to chat with one other, we all exchanged a small nod of acknowledgement and a smile as a greeting.

For how strange it felt, knowing that I wasn't the only one there, even if I didn't know the others so well, it made me feel less nervous and helped me to keep in place that fake smile on my lips and just do my job for one last night.

The service Sylvia offered was like no other in the city.

Despite what most people believed, prostitution was indeed the _service_ that was most requested by the clients, but it was also just a small part of the entire business.

Sylvia's Agency offered entertainment and companions for all the occasions.

Through her long list of contacts there were several wealthy clients; important people whom were willing to pay very good money to keep everything hidden.

Discretion and privacy were Sylvia's main rules, as were caution and kindness for the other boys and girls whom worked for her.

Her _employees_ were all well educated, almost everyone had a college degree of some kind, and they were all very attractive and polite; traits that were all required by my former boss, and, for how much I tried to tell myself that it wasn't like that, I couldn't ignore the a small part of me that, for how minimal it was, felt somehow... flattered... when Sylvia had showed an interest for me all those months back and asked me to work for her.

I still had to find an answer about what she could have possibly seen in me that _earned_ me a place among her very restricted group of _employees_.

Maybe when she saw me working in that resturant, she had been attracted to my cordiality, to my kindness, my smile, or the fact that I was very young respect what I learned afterwards was the age the other boys and girls... I didn't know.

The only thing I was sure though was, that for how much I had noticed her appreciation about it, she hadn't stopped to just look at my body.

And from that moment, she had been the only one whom evidently had noticed _something_ in me beside a pretty face.

Well, at least until she sent me to _entertain_ a new client.

A certain raven haired woman whom had changed everything in my life in just a few weeks, and whose presence was never far away from my thoughts as her name kept echoing in my mind at the same rhythm of the beats of my heart...

That night, Mr. Brooks, had introduced me simply as a friend arrived from outside the city and that was in town for a visit and for some business.

Make charming conversation with the groups of people with whom my client decided to stop and talk with, wasn't hard; kindness and politeness where the main rules. As for the arguments however, I was very pleased that they didn't just engage in talks about law or politics. For how much I knew and could offer an appropritate answer when someone asked my personal opinion about something that involved those topics, it certainly wasn't my favourite subject.

But in all of that, there was a part that I actually enjoyed during that evening, and it was when people asked me about what did I do.

Tell that I was an art historian was the part that I enjoyed the most; it was the only part, the only moment, where I wasn't lying and I could show a bit of myself, of the person I really was, and not appear just like a no one girl wearing an elegant silk midnight blue floor length dress pretending to look like a woman.

And even if the other guests seemed to show a genuine interest after they asked me about my _profession_ , and I limited myself by answering that I was just taking my time to do some researches for the moment, my companion for the evening, my client, seemed to be just interested in staying as close to me as possible as he scanned my body up and down whenever he had the occasion.

 _Feel_ his eyes on me was making me incredibly nervous, uncomfortable beyond compare, but unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do about it.

I could tell he was new to all of this; the gala night and use of etiquette -strangely enough- didn't seem part of his daily routine, as well as I knew he was a complete stranger to the whole escort service-thing and how it worked.

I politely declined the second glass of champagne that he offered me and watched as he drank in one gulp what I suspected was the third or fourth whiskey he had in the last half an hour.

At first I thought he just needed some liquid courage that would have helped him to make him appear less nervous as he spoke with the few Judges and other guests present, but now... I frowned as I looked at him while he was ending a very awkward conversation with a few prosecutors.

He wasn't drunk, but he was definitely uninhibited.

His speech had become too relaxed for the one that such night required, and it was filled with inappropriate terms. But all of this was just a minimal part that could have even been ignored, but I could not ignore the way his arm, the one that had been wrapped loosely around my waist, had tightened significantly its hold around me to keep me closer.

I waited until the people he was speaking with were gone, and I was just going to gently remove his hand from my hip when he pulled it away on its own only to offer it to me along with a broad smile on his lips.

"You wanna dance?" He asked tilting his head towards the near ballroom.

The idea wasn't even a bit appealing to me, but I found myself smiling back and taking the hand he was offering only because I had to do it. "Of course." I answered, noticing how the smile on his face became even wider as he lead me out from the vast foyer and towards the ballroom.

He was paying good money for my company that evening, a dance wasn't such a big deal after all considering what all my other appointments were about... And even if that one was going to be my last job, I still needed to do it and pretend I was enjoying the night and his company very much.

My thoughts brought me to the only person with whom I didn't have to fake anything.

The only one whom had made me feel like a _person_ and whom hadn't used me just like an object or exposed me as a trophy when we were out together.

The orchestra was playing a waltz and there were several couples that were dancing all around in the large beautifully decored room.

My companion placed his hand on my waist as I rested mine on his shoulder, letting him lead the dance. As my steps followed his, I closed my eyes and pretended that no one else was there, that the entire room was empty except for the music, and that the person with whom I was dancing, was a certain green-eyed woman.

With my eyes closed imagination found a way in my head very easily and suddenly, in my mind, the hand resting around my waist and the strong scent filling my nostrils, were no longer the one of a stranger.

They were Alex's.

A small amused smile tugged at my lips; I couldn't imagine Alex dance a classical piece of music, yet, for how strange it was, I coudln't help but find the idea of me and her dancing together... Incredibly romantic. And in that moment, as that thought crossed my mind, I found myself shifting to stay just a bit closer to her.

But just like it had appeared, that daydream lasted only for a few short seconds, because a moment later, when another dancing couple collided with me, my eyes snapped open and reality came crashing back to me.

I pulled back from my companion, just barely managing -for how possible- not to make it seem a too sudden and rude gesture as I tried to regain my breath and willing my heart to slow down.

"Are you okay?" He asked me placing his hand on my exposed upper arm. I flinched at his unexpected touch, but luckily, I managed to recover pretty quickly and found myself nodding repeatedly as I looked around me for the first time, realizing that the music had stopped and that the other guests were exiting from the room.

Find my voice turned out to be almost an impossible task, but after a few attempts, I finally succeded to speak, even if my voice came out much lower and raspier than what I was used to hear. "I think it's almost time for the Mayor speech." I said as I watched the large amount of people that was leaving the ballroom, surely to go towards the main room where the speaker podium had been set up.

He nodded, giving me another one of those suspicious smirks as he offered me his arm.

I placed my hand on the crook of his elbow with a bit of reluctance and permitted him to lead me out of the room.

The images that kept flashing in my mind, the memories they brought up, kept assaulting me with sensations I wished I could just ignore in order to not look too distracted and upset, but there was nothing I could do about it.

My efforts were useless.

I had deluded myself into thinking that the sense of guilt that I felt settling inside of me ever since I left Alex in that hospital room, would have somehow dissipated, but it had actually worsened.

Nothing had been able to dissuade it, and nothing was going to. The only thing that would have made me feel better, was to call Alex, and ask her if we could meet to talk, hoping that she was willing to listen to what I had to say, and hoping that she would have forgiven me for running away and abandoning her in a moment where I should have been there at her side.

I didn't have an excuse to offer to her. But I had the truth, and an all consuming emotion that hadn't stopped beating in my heart. Hopefully, it would have been enough.

I was so absorbed by my troubling thoughts, by the latest events and all that had happened with Alex, that it was like I could almost feel her presence.

The sensation was so strong that for a moment, the irrational thought that she could be there looking at me crossed my mind. I could almost _feel_ her eyes burning a hole through me, and that overwhelming sensation, sent a warm shiver up to my spine.

I was just going to turn around and take a look to make sure that it was all in my head, when I realized that my companion hadn't lead me towards the main hall where the Mayor was going to make his speech, but that he lead me into a dimly lit, completely deserted room with a door window that lead on a balcony, and where the only decorations were a couple of marble statues placed on its corners.

"Uh, what are we doing here?" I asked as I stopped and looked at him with a small frown of confusion when all he did was smirk at me. "We should return to the main room..." My voice trailed off when I saw him taking a step closer.

I didn't like the wicked smile tugging on his lips and the fact that he had brought me in that room. A small, barely audible allarm went off in my head in that moment, and the warning bells became louder when I heard what he said next.

"There's no rush, we still have a few more minutes..." His words were a bit slurred and I knew it must have been because the alcohol had kicked in.

Once again, his eyes roamed all over my body before they returned up to look up at me. "God, I had no idea you were so beautiful Piper."

My name falling from his lips sounded so empty and the way he whispered it had me shiver in repulsion as it did the hand that he placed on my hip.

I let out a short very nervous laugh thinking that maybe I could have found a way out of this without a drama. "Thank you... But I really think we should go back now."

However, he didn't seem to register my words. He took a step closer and I found myself taking one back instinctively, and it was only in that moment, only when my back hit something that I realized that he got me cornered against the wall.

I didn't like one bit the turn that things had taken in the last minute, and I had been too distracted and absorbed in my thoughts to realize that we weren't going in the right direction.

"Look, I know that we have arranged for you only to be my guest for the evening, but maybe..." He didn't even need to end that sentence, I already knew what he was going to say next. "Maybe we can make a new deal." My suspects were comfirmed as soon as he said that, watching how he licked his lips and took another step closer, so close that I could smell the alcohol in his breath while at the same time he moved his hand from where it was resting around my waist to make its way down to rest too close to my ass for my comfort.

My heart started to beat so furiously in my chest with a sense of anguish and agitation that I could heard the blood rushing in my ears, but even if every fiber of my body seemed to be paralyzed, I still found the strenght to speak as I tried to remove his hand from where he had placed it. "I don't think so. The arrangement said that I would have been the escort for the evening. Nothing more."

Even if my nervousness was shifting quickly into something much more serious and alarming, I still managed to make the words sound more secure than how I was feeling in that moment, but for how much I tried, there was no way I succedeed to remove his hand from my waist. His grip was firm, and he was strong, way too strong respect my thin body.

"I know," He continued as if he hadn't noticed the way I was trying to free myself from his possessive hold. "But I can pay you whatever you want. We should go to my apartment after this..."

He sounded definitely drunk now. I felt my heart pounding against my rib cage as bile rose in my throat.

"No. Now please let me go..." I was struggling to free myself but with him pratically pressed on my front and the wall behind me, I didn't have a way out, and he didn't seem willing to let me go.

I started to panic.

The only sound I could hear were the distant voices coming from several rooms back.

There was no one around.

"Come on, we'll have fun..."

"I said no!" This time I almost screamed and I was ready to if it was necessary, hoping that someone would have heard me since he had trapped me and I was unable to use my arms or my legs to defend myself.

He kept insisting and it seemed that the more I tried to fight him, the more he liked it.

His other hand came up to grab my breast and I tried to push him away with all the strenght I had, struggling desperately and turning my head from side to side when he leaned in with the intention to kiss me.

"Get off me! I said stop!"

Time seemed to slow down when, not even a split second later after I shouted, I felt him suddenly pulling back from me.

In that moment I thought that he had finally realized that I didn't want it.

But when I reopened my eyes and they focused on what was happening in front of me, I had to blink several times to make sure that it wasn't some sort of dream or allucination.

He hadn't pulled away because I had asked it, but because someone heard me and came to my rescue.

But it wasn't one of the security guards that had noticed standing in the main rooms.

No...

My hero came out from nowhere; from a hidden shadow just like a black knight.

Silent as a ghost...

And was a woman.

Her long black hair was her cape, and even if in all the commotion I just caught a glimpse of her face, it wasn't one I would have ever mistaken from someone else's, because it was the one of the person that kept hunting my thoughts during the day, and that held me close in my dreams during the night.

A combination of shock and disbelief covered my face, and for the first few moments I could only stay there, petrified, as I watched her grabbing the man that was molesting me by the collar of his suit and punched him in the face with so much force that I heard the sound of his nose breaking.

He screamed in pain.

...But she didn't stop.

 **. . .**

"I can't believe you managed to talk me into this Nicky." I groaned as I re-adjusted for the tenth time the collar of my shirt that my friend was trying to fix in a way I didn't like.

Nicky just smirked at me with a satisfied look as she smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in the front of my suit. "Don't sound so surprised boss... You know I can always find a way to convince you."

I narrowed my eyes at her but it was pointless, she was right. She was probably the only one, beside my mother, whom had always managed to talk me into things I didn't want to do or was very reluctant at the idea of doing them, and that night, my friend had won the fight and dressed me in a tuxedo.

She pulled back after the last adjustment with a new, even bigger smirk tugging at her lips.

"You look _great_ Alex."

I may had won and persuaded her not to tie that ridiculous bow tie around my neck before we left the house to go to the party, but there wasn't a way I could convince her about the vest that she made me wear underneath the suit, or the cane that she had insisted that I had to use since I had refused to bring the crutches as support for my still healing leg.

"I look ridiculous Nicky!" I hissed under my breath to not risk to draw more unwanted attentions from all the people that was surrounding us in the vast very crowded hall.

"And this cane is just... _Ugh!_ "

I was frustrated, irritable beyond compare, and the fact that Nicky seemed to enjoy the way I was acting as if she was watching a very interesting comedy show, only made me more annoyed.

"With the cane, the grumpiness and all, you kind of resemble Dr. House. Try to add some sarcasm too..." She chuckled amused and I could only narrow my eyes further into two thin slits.

If a look could set something or someone on fire, in that moment I was seriously wondering if my friend could be fireproof.

"Aw, come on Alex," She said giving me a friendly pat on my shoulder before she rubbed her hand up and down my arm in a comforting gesture. "Don't do that... You really look fabulous, sister."

I just sighed as I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, lifting my glasses a little up with the movement. I could feel the beginning of another headache pulsing from my temples, and all the chatting and the music coming a few rooms distant wasn't helping one bit either.

"And if you would look around you for a second," Nicky continued as she urged me to look up with a gentle hand under my chin. "You will see that _all_ the women in the room are staring at you like you are a juicy strawberry dipped in chocolate."

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard her saying that. "Really Nicky?" I asked her as I opened my eyes and looked at her with an arched eyebrow. " _A strawberry dipped in chocolate_?"

She didn't answer me verbally however, she just limited to grin as she shifted her gaze to look at a very attractive brunette with a long sleeveless black dress who smirked at me when our gazes met before throwing a seductive wink in my direction.

"See?" Nicky's voice was filled with satisfaction and she looked incredibly smug as she crossed her arms over her chest."She has even licked her lips. And she is the fifth who has stopped to look at you just in the last two minutes..."

Try to suppress the chuckle that was already rumbling in my chest was impossible.

"So what?" I asked through another laugh, this one sounding more sincere and humorous. "Are you saying that I might have just _converted_ half of the women in this room?" I joked gesturing with my free hand around the vast crowded hall where the guests were sipping champagne with a fake smile plastered on their faces as they engaged in boring conversations.

My friend adopted an expression that made her look very concentrated, as if she was considering my question, and she didn't make me wait too long for the answer.

"Well, yes." She nodded with convinction. "It wouldn't be the first time Al... Am I right?"

I shook my head at her comment with an amused smile on my lips as she continued.

"Besides, you can't blame them for wanting a small taste of you... _strawberry cake_."

The way she lifted her eyebrows was the last thing I could take. I burst out laughing, just barely managing to keep it down enough to not draw too much attention.

 _Oh, Nicky._ She could always find a way to make me smile even when I thought I had forgotten how to do it, and her whole speech had been just another one of her attempts to amuse me and see me laugh.

And even this time, she had succeeded.

"There it is the gorgeous smile I like to see." She said with a grin of her own. "Now try to keep it in place for another hour or so..."

After hearing that, a new frustrated groan that left my lips, but held up my free hand in surrender when I saw Nicky throwing at me a scolding look. "Alright, alright... I'll try."

She didn't look very convinced, but luckily, she let it go and didn't insist. "Good."

"I think I'll go to... take a look around." I announced to my friend after a moment of hesitation, feeling a sudden sense of suffocation wrapping around me when I looked up and saw the large amount of people surrounding us. I wasn't used to stay in such places, and the fact that the room was crowded was making me a little nervous; I didn't have a clear view of all the entries and exits, and even if I knew that I had no reason to be so _vigilant_ , I could never ignore that sensation inside me that represented my control.

"You want me to come with you?" I could tell by Nicky's tone and by the creases of worry that she was trying not to show on her face, that she was still concerned about me and my condition, both physical and emotional.

I gave her a sincere smile as I shook my head. "It's okay Nicky... I'll be back in a few minutes."

Reluctance and the same concern covered my friend's face, but she let me go after another recommendation to be careful and to return within ten minutes before the Mayor speech or she would have " _torn the place apart to find me_ ". Her words.

Even if Nicky could be incredibly annoying like a real concerned sister sometimes, for how much I denied it, I kind of liked to have someone who worried about me and took care of me like she did.

As I exited form the main room with my new shiny cane as a support, and walked with a strong limp past the other ones that were still crowded with guests, I stopped in front of the table for the donations and pulled out my checkbook and a pen from the inner pocket of my suit.

I made the donation using my best friend's name, and I smiled when I thought that, given the substantial check, they would have probably given her name to the new shelter and free medical clinic, but it seemed appropriated. Nicky had been pratically my nurse in those past few days. A grumpy one whom had threatened me with death if I refused to eat. But still caring in her own way.

I folded the check and handed it to one of the assistants sit on the other side of the table, whom smiled timidly at me with a warm blush coloring her cheeks as she took it and placed it in a book with all the others donations.

That particular reaction reminded me immediately of someone, and my heart skipped a beat as soon as I noticed it.

I replayed in my head what Nicky told me only a few minutes previous about a few women looking at me as I, slowly, made my way in search of a possible empty room for a bit of silence, noticing a couple more sending me very obvious looks of appreciation along the hallway.

All those women could stare at me how much they wanted; there was a time where I would have showed an interest, but I had stopped playing that game a long time ago... Right when I had started with my job as a government assassin.

I knew there were risks, I was well aware of that, and I also knew that no one would have ever accepted to stay with me if I would have told them the truth... Deep down, I knew it was better that way; I knew that no one would have been hurt. And unfortunately, I had just discovered what it was like to ignore that small voice that kept whispering from the back of my head that I should have been more careful and that I should have never started anything with a certain blonde art student.

...But it wasn't something I could have prevented.

I wasn't so naive to think so.

For as much control mean to me, this kind of things were far away from my reach.

So, there I was; dressed up and dragged out of home to attend to a boring party with a slowly healing wound on my leg and a broken heart that hadn't stopped bleeding from a week...

I just wondered how much pain I had to feel, and how much blood I still had to lose to pay for letting my guard down and having fallen for the young woman whom had woken up in me sensations and emotions that I thought I could no longer feel.

I let out a sigh that was both for relief and frustration when I finally found a deserted room and managed to walk outside on the small balcony, but groaned and grimaced in pain when I realized that I had walked much more than what my extensive injury permitted.

But it was worth it. I wanted to stay alone, to have a few minutes for myself, and in those halls surrounded by people I was starting to feel overwhelmed, not to mention that I was also trying to escape and don't show my face too much around because I wasn't in the mood to have a conversation with a few old acquaintances that I knew could be there; people from the US Attorney's Office or from the Federal Plaza.

I had nothing against them, on the contrary, but the last thing I needed in that moment, was to reopen an old wound and add even that pain to the ones that where already lacerating me inside and out.

The cool air of the night was a nice distraction as the wind caressed my face and howled past my ears along with the many different sounds of a city that never slept and the ones that were coming from behind me where the party was taking place.

But said distraction lasted for only a few brief seconds, until I realized that I was playing absently with the thin, silver necklace around my neck.

...The last memory I had of Piper.

It was something that I found myself doing a lot ever since I decided to wear it. I didn't even know what had brought me to wear it in the first place. She was gone. Yet, as I replayed the last time I had seen her, as I relived from my memories those last few minutes in the hospital room before she left... Remembered the light in her eyes, the passion and reassurance in her kiss... The promise that that kiss held...

For how weak and pathetic it was of me, I knew that I was wearing it because I hadn't gave up, because I still have a small drop of hope left in me under all that pain.

I raised my gaze to look in the distance, scanning the jungle of buildings that I saw in front of me and wondered if maybe even she was thinking about me in that moment...

Wherever she was...

The sound of a few near voices made me roll my eyes in annoyance, realizing that someone else had found this corner of silence from all the commotion.

I could have used a few more minutes for myself, but then I thought about what Nicky said and about her recommendation to return before the Mayor's speech, and after letting out a frustrated puff of air I decided to go. After all, I certainly didn't want to unleash the Wrath of Nicky.

She wasn't tall or big, but could be quite scary with her threats.

I had just picked up my cane when suddenly the sound of the voices I had heard not even a minute before, became more clear. I could distinguish two above the other sounds. One was male, but the other one...

I frowned deeply.

The other one was too familiar.

Smooth, delicate... With a hint of shyness.

I blinked several times, shaking my head because I thought I had just heard it wrong, but no...

My heart jumped up into my throat as I shifted in that shadow from where I was standing on the balcony to take a better look into the room. And in that moment, even though the two other persons didn't seem to have noticed my presence, from my position, not only I could see theirs, but I had the confirmation that the woman dressed in a long beautiful dress, was the same young woman whom presence had become a constant in my thoughts.

A thousand of questions formed in my head when I saw her, but they were immediately pushed aside when I shifted my gaze to the man that was standing in front of her.

I felt my heart starting beating so fast and so loudly that I could hear it in my ears as a sudden hot rush of blood warmed my face.

He was very close to her.

My hand, the one that was holding the cane, tightened the hold on its handle with so much force that the muscles in my forearm started to hurt.

He was too _intimately_ close to her.

Not even a moment later, I saw him taking a step closer, pressing her against the wall and placing his hand on her hip.

My eyes narrowed dangerously and I clenched my jaw so tightly that I was sure my teeth were going to shatter in my mouth.

 _Who was this guy? What was Piper doing here with him?_

So many were the questions that started floating around my head, yet, I just remained there, almost paralyzed in front of a scene that I couldn't believe I was actually witnessing.

My stomach dropped and a sense of nausea overwhelmed me to the point that I felt bile rise in my throat.

Every explanation, every excuse I could come up with only made me feel worse.

In the best case scenario, she had a boyfriend she hadn't told me about, and on the worst case, all that had happened between us, everything we had shared, had been nothing for her but a lie.

A part of me, the small rational one that was still present, was trying to tell me that there was another explanation, that Piper would have never gone to such a party, that she, just like me, wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed to partecipate to those things, and that there was something off about all of that.

But I found myself diverting my gaze anyway, I couldn't look anymore, it was way more than what I could bear, and for how much I tried to fight them back, tears pricked my eyes anyway and a painful lump formed in my throat.

But I didn't have occasion to even try to swallow it down that a loud _"no"_ made me snap my head up once again.

I had been so absorbed by my thoughts, by all those questions, by the new stronger burning pain in my heart, that I hadn't even paid attention to what they were talking about, not until I finally noticed how uncomfortable Piper looked and the way she was trying to free herself from the hold he had on her waist.

 _"I said no!"_

That sight, the alarm in her voice, the panic, was enough to push aside every trace of hurt I was feeling, every drop of pain and realize that the air had changed and that something was very wrong.

She started struggling, trying to push him away.

What I had first thought I was witnessing, turned out to be something much more terrible.

 _"Get off me! I said stop!"_

I reacted even before I could understand what I was doing.

Instinct took over.

Adrenaline started to pump painfully in my veins as my blood boiled like the lava in a vulcano, ready to erupt.

I strode out of the shadows, I didn't even know if I ran or walked. It didn't matter. Anger had blinded me, and I couldn't see, hear or feel anything else beside it.

The next thing I registered was my fist colliding with his face and the distant echo of a scream as something broke under my hand.

The indistinguishable smell of blood reached my nostrils making me widen my eyes like a shark that had smelled a single drop in the water, and the reaction was immediate.

The wild, hungry, ferocious beast living inside me woke up from its long slumber.

The thick chains that had kept it in place for so long, could do nothing to restrain its demoniac supernatural strenght, and shattered like glass at the first pull.

I was trembling with rage, the primal part of me had dominated the rational controlled one, making me relentless and showing my real nature of bloodthirsty creature.

I couldn't see what was happening, just a few images flashed in front of my eyes.

Somehow I had ended up on the floor, my new prey beneath me as I kept hitting him, again, again, and again.

I remembered hearing sounds, voices, as if they were coming from so distant that I couldn't figure out what it was or understand the words. Nothing didn't seem to reach me in that moment.

The human part in me was nowhere to be found.

I was too far gone to stop.

All I could see, was in my head. His hands on her. My lover screaming, struggling to free herself, upset, panicked, scared... _In danger._

I bared my teeth increasing the force of my blows.

This prey wasn't going anywhere.

He was _mine_.

But just when I thought that nothing could have stopped me, with the last drop of consciousness I had of my body, I felt something, someone pulling me back, forcing me up and away from my prey.

A new flood of anger ran through my veins as I tried to free myself, feeling like a captured wolf. But my attempts were useless. Two, maybe three different forces were keeping me back, holding me forcefully from my arms, but that didn't stop me from trying to launch myself forward, growling like a rabid dog.

Adrenaline didn't make me feel anything. The pain in my leg was nothing but an old distant memory compared to what was happening inside me.

Above the sound of my allarmingly labored breathing, I could ear the distant echo of voices all around me, but I couldn't figure out what was being said. Rage was still blinding me, I could see, but I couldn't register the images. I could feel, but the sensation of whomever was holding me back was so foreign that it only made me more agitated and furious.

Until I felt it.

That touch...

The warm soft touch of that hand on my cheek.

So caring.

So familiar...

It quietened the beast inside of me immediately and my body could only obey as I surrendered to that wordless order.

I stopped trying to fight against those forces.

Sounds started to come back, slowly, one voice in particular above all the others.

"Alex... Alex look at me..."

So incredibly familiar...

My breath still shallow and rapid, but it was starting to return to a normal rhythm.

"Look at me Alex..."

Again, that voice.

My name.

It sounded closer now, as if it was coming from someone standing right in front of me, but I couldn't see them.

I blinked, several times, trying to clear my vision from the red anger that was starting to dissipate.

And then, I finally saw her.

The only reason, the only person who could have brought me back and made me human again.

"Piper..." I whispered her name, breathless.

She gave me a nod and continued to talk to me, stroking my cheek affectionately.

"It's okay Alex... It's okay sweety. Breathe. Try to calm down..."

Her voice, the touch of her hand, was so deeply soothing, touching places I didn't know I possessed, but her look was scared, worried. But not of me...

After all that had just happened, she was worried _for_ me.

I closed my eyes another time, shaking my head, and when I reopened them, I took the first look around and realized where I was. From a few feet distant I recognized my friend Nicky who was talking with a few others guards and turned to give me a look that I couldn't quite interpret in that still confusing moment, then I shifted my gaze and saw a couple of agents picking up the bleeding animal lying on the floor to handcuff him.

With a frown of deep confusion I raised my gaze and noticed the security cameras on the corner of the room, and things started to make sense.

I watched Piper give a nod at the two big security guards that were holding me up, and if it wasn't for the young woman in front of me that hurried to support my weight when they released me, I would have collapsed on the floor when the pain in my leg returned all of a sudden with a vengeance.

"I got you Alex..." Through the unbearable pain that was agonizing me, I found the strenght to look up at her, and the bright, breathtaking light that I saw in her eyes as she said that, made my heart skip a beat and took the pain away. "Come on... Let's get you out of here."


	25. Chapter 25

Hi everyone!

I know, I know... It's taking me a little longer to post the chapters. Believe me, I try to update whenever I have the time, but I've been a little busy lately. Sorry for the delay guys, but now I'm back with a new chapter ready for you :) And I won't keep you away from it any longer ;)

Enjoy

* * *

The hiss of pain that I heard coming from the raven haired woman made me look up at her and see the small grimace of discomfort cross her exhausted, yet always beautiful face, as I finished to medicate the few cuts on the back of her bruised hand.

"Sorry..." I whispered, breaking the silence that had fallen in my small kitchen, giving her an apologetic look before placing a small bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel, on the swollen knuckles of her hand that was resting on the countertop.

I swallowed hard, and I had to force myself to breathe when the thought about how she got that injury crossed my mind for the hundredth time just in the last half an hour.

Alex remained there, sat quietly on the kitchen stool, head tilted slightly down as she stared blankly at the marble surface of the countertop. Her long black hair falling like a curtain, partially shielding her face from my view.

She had been like this ever since the security guards had released her; in just a few minutes she had changed from the furious, full of rage _creature_ that had beaten almost into unconsciousness my aggressor, into this harmless, docile person who looked lost, disoriented, as if she was still processing all that happened.

I didn't recognize neither of the two, but I was sure that the woman I knew, was somewhere in there, hidden into an invisible shell as she recovered from that emotional storm and alarming change of behavior that she had just experinced and that I had witnessed.

As I looked at her with a frown of deep concern covering my face, I found myself replaying in my head everything that had happened, from the moment I started to panic when I realized exactly in what kind of danger I was in when that bastard cornered me, until this mysterious figure came out of nowhere, saved me and started beating him.

It had taken two security guards to pull Alex away from him; two large muscular guards who were twice Alex's weight, and still, it didn't seem enough to restrain her.

I had never seen anything like that before...

I _knew_ that there was something in Alex, a foreign primal force that she kept hidden inside her; I had seen just a glimpse of it, but I knew it was there, I could _feel_ it, and that night, I finally met that presence. A presence that for a few minutes, took everything that made Alex human at exception of her body.

I remembered the look on her face, the darkness in her eyes, that from the bright vivid green I knew and adored so much, had turned into a cold lifeless steel gray, as if she had been deprived by all emotions, leaving nothing back but anger and pure rage.

A part of me was frightened when I saw her unleash that force, when I witnessed that vicious moment and then saw how lost and furious she looked when the guards had picked her up, holding her forcefully by her arms. Yet, before I knew what I was doing, I was in front of her; nothing had succeeded to calm her down from that blinding rage, and for how scary it was for me to see her like that, it was nothing compared to the deepest sense of anguish and concern that I felt for her during those endless moments. I shifted to stay in front of her because I wanted her to focus on me. I knew that she would have never hurt me, of that I had no doubt, even if the state she was in was an unknown territory for me.

It was instict; it had took over on her to protect me, but it was also the part that I listened to in order to bring her back. And for how much incredulous it left me, I succeeded.

One touch.

That was all it took.

I had to blink a few times to clear my mind from those images and then I shifted my gaze to look at the quiet woman sat beside me. Her eyes staring into nothingness. Emotionless.

That empty look was worrying me with every passing minute.

I thought that she would have recovered more easily and faster after leaving that place, but the guards forced me to say for a few minutes to give my _statement_ -or better- my comfirmation that what they had seen on the security cameras was exactly what had happened, as if there was any other interpretation for such scene; as soon as they picked up that animal lying on the floor and smelled the alchol in his breath, they had the confirmation they needed.

I didn't care what it would have been of him; even though I was well aware of what he was going to do to me, it was the last thought in my already overfilled mind.

All my concerns, all my attentions, were on Alex. In that moment, nothing else and one else mattered to me. And I suspected it was just that resolution, that it must have been showing on my face under the still present shock, that helped me past Alex's best friend and convinced her that I would have taken care of her.

It was a wordless understanding the one that passed between us when I took Alex's hand with the intention to bring her out of there.

If I was worried, the only look on her best friend's face told me that she was as much as I was, yet, after a moment that seemed to last for an eternity where I kept my eyes locked with hers and didn't falter when she threw at me an hard murderous look while I begged her silently, she finally gave me a short nod after a long moment of hesitation. I couldn't blame the deep resentment she had towards me, nor I could blame her for being so reluctant to let me take her friend, but I was immensely relieved, and glad beyond words that she gave me that chance to make things right.

I owned Alex so much more than just that. This time, I wouldn't have disappointed anyone. Not Alex, not her best friend, but especially not myself.

"Alex..." Her name fell from my lips in the softest whisper, not wanting to startle her as I gently took her uninjured hand in mine.

She didn't flinch from my touch or tried to pull back, and for a moment, I wondered if she had heard me at all or noticed that I was holding her hand, since all she did was remain there, unresponsive. But just when I was considering to call her name another time, hoping that this time it would have caught her attention, she spoke.

"What am I doing here Piper?"

Her voice was so low, so raspy, as if she hadn't talked for entire days, but it wasn't hearing it that sent a cold shiver down my spine and made me clench my stomach with anguish. No... It was her tone, the way she asked me that question. Empty of all emotions, except for a barely audible hint of defeat.

In just a few seconds, her gaze shifted and, for the first time since I heard her say my name after I managed to pull her out from that blinding rage, her eyes locked with mine, and in that moment, as I looked into those clouded green pool, I felt my heart shatter in a million of sharp pieces in my chest. Even if her voice sounded empty, I could perfectly see the confusion, the vulnerability and hurt lying in her eyes and the deep sorrow on her face.

In that moment, I hoped that she didn't have turned to look at me at all, but for as much as every fiber of my being was telling me to divert my gaze, I didn't. I couldn't. That look was there on her beautiful face, clouding her stunning green eyes only because of me.

Try to get rid of the lump that had formed in my throat and that was making it hard to breathe, wasn't easy, I had to swallow, several times, but after a few attempts, I succeeded, and when I spoke, I said the only thing that had been on my mind for the past few days.

"I needed to talk to you Alex..." Even if I kept my voice as gentle and as soft as I could, I admitted that the words sounded still somehow too _serious_ and _definitive_. "I meant to call you tomorrow but-"

The humourless, bitter laugh that left her lips and interrupted me, for how much it hurt, it was nothing compared to what I felt when she pulled her hand away from mine.

"That's very convenient for you Piper." Her voice, even if low, had become suddenly sharp and severe.

Emotions started to resurface, but unfortunately, and just as I expected, they weren't the ones I was desperately hoping to see in her eyes as she continued. "But excuse me if I don't believe in this coincidence that you want to speak with me only because of what happened, and because I've just seen you with that... _prick_." Her face contorted with a combination of anger and disgust as she said that. I couldn't blame her for being pissed at me, but I couldn't let her think, and least of all believe, what I knew she was probably asking herself about the idiot from whom she had saved me.

"He has nothing to do with the reason because I wanted to talk with you Alex!" Without meaning to, I found myself raising my voice and sounding more desperate than what I didn't want her to hear. And of course, her response matched just my tone.

"Then what were you doing there with him?!" She wasn't demanding, and she wasn't exactly angry, but she was definitely hurt, and for as strange as it was for me to see that emotion added to the other ones that were suddenly showing on her face, I couldn't not notice the hint of jealousy that she was trying so hard to cover.

After I heard her asking me that, I fell silent. Keeping eye contact was becoming too painful; she was making me feel too exposed, so, without giving it too much thought, I did the only thing that I should have avoided more than anything else. I diverted my gaze from hers, looking down and letting my hair fall to shield my face, feeling so deeply ashamed, so unworthy of looking at her... But it was the biggest mistake I ever made.

She understood immediately.

"You know what? I don't want to hear it."

The noise of the chair legs scrapping on the tile kitchen floor was what made me snap my head up only to comfirm that she had stood up with a grimace of pain on her face for the movement and had put aside the frozen bag that was resting on her brusied hand.

For the second time in one evening, panic assaulted me. But this time, even though I wasn't in any kind of danger, I felt it hitting me so much more violently, leaving me breathless and petrified as I realized that she had every intention to leave.

I couldn't permit it.

Before I knew it, I was already on my feet as a sudden surge of strenght and courage helped me to speak through the panic.

"Alex wait! Please, let me explain. It's not what you think..."

Even if my words sounded like a cliche, she stopped. Maybe it was because I had placed myself right in front of her giving her no way out, or maybe it was the pleading look that I gave her. "Please..." I repeated and I didn't care if I sounded desperate, or pathetically weak in front of her. I just wanted a chance to make things right.

A few more seconds passed until I saw her shoulders relaxing, then slumping in defeat.

This time, she was the one whom dropped her gaze. "You don't want to know what I'm thinking right now Piper..." The words came out so softly and so raspy, that I barely heard them; her voice sounding once again empty from every trace of emotion, but even if that sight was breaking me into pieces, I had to put in second place my pain and focus on taking hers away.

I took a small step closer and reached out to place my hand on her cheek, gently, just like I had done not even an hour previous when I was trying to calm her.

"It's nothing you imagine Alex..." I kept my tone as soft as I could, releasing a silent sigh of relief when she didn't pull back from my touch and raised her gaze tentatively. I didn't miss the new flash of hurt, nor the drop of hope, that I saw shine in her eyes as she looked at me, giving me the occasion to explain myself.

"He was a client," I admitted, feeling as she stiffened immediately under my touch. "But it was not one of _those_ assignments." I hurried to explain, watching as a new small crease of confusion formed between her eyebrows. "It was my last job, Sylvia insisted and I have only accepted because all I had to do was be that guy's escort to the party, nothing more." I reassured her stroking her cheek with my thumb before gently pushing aside a strand of soft black hair from her face.

For all the time, I never diverted my gaze from her. I wanted her to see the sincerity of my words into my eyes, leaving me exposed completely as she examined me while I did the same, watching closely how her face started to relax when my words sunk into her.

I didn't realize that I had been holding my breath until I released the air trapped into my lungs in a long silent sigh, but for how much relieving it was to know that she believed me and had given me the change to explain myself, that one wasn't the talk I was so nervous about at the idea to have with her.

And I didn't have to wait long before she asked me the question that I was expecting.

"Why did you leave?"

My heart ached and my throat constricted with suppressed tears when I heard how hurt and vulnerable she sounded; she was no longer even trying to cover it up. Her eyes were glistening, her voice broken, her face showing nothing but sorrow, and the effect that sight had on me, was devastating. Because I knew that the only one to blame for doing all that damage to her, was me.

The one she asked me was the same question that I had been asking myself over and over during the past days.

But even if it had taken some time to find it, I finally had an answer, and I wouldn't have waited a minute longer to give it to her.

"I was shocked." Speak through the painful lump stuck in my throat was incredibly difficult, but I ignored the discomfort as I continued, watching closely every expression, every emotion that crossed Alex's face. "I suspected that your job was dangerous, and I had the confirmation when..." My voice trailed off as I looked down at her leg and swallowed hard, knowing how gravely she had been injured and knowing that she had seriously risked her life. "...But I had no idea that you would have revealed to me that your job is to hunt down criminals and kill them. I could have never imagined that your job was _so_ dangerous." I kept going as I raised my head to look at her right in the eyes. "I was incredulous, confused... I needed time to think, to process..."

I could tell that she was waiting with bated breath to know which had been the result of all that thinking I had done during the past few days, and I had no intention to keep her waiting.

"I'm so sorry for leaving Alex. You have no idea how deeply sorry I am." She dropped her gaze, but I had already seen the thick tears that had formed in her beautiful, deep green eyes. "But there's never been a moment during these past days that I haven't chastised myself for leaving like I did..." I continued, taking a step closer, so close that her strong intoxicating scent filled my nostrils when I inhaled. It comforted me and a new, strong, unexpected surge of courage made me raise my other hand to cup her cheek, tenderly, urging her to look up at me as I prepared myself to say what I needed to say next.

"I know you're hurt Alex, and I can't blame you for being mad at me. But I want you to know, that I've never stopped thinking about you, and that every moment I've spent away, only made me feel worse... But not even once," I swallowed, hard, trying unsuccessfully to get rid of that stubborn lump stuck in my throat. "...not even for a second, I have ever reconsidered or had doubts about what I feel for you."

I took in a shaky breath and felt my heart starting to beat faster in my chest when Alex raised her gaze for those last few inches to meet mine, and at that point, as I looked into the overwhelming, breathtaking light of hope that I saw shining into those stunning green gems, the words that I found myself thinking so much about lately, slipped from my lips for the first real time in my life, no longer able to contain them.

"I love you Alex." My voice broke a little when I said her name because of the powerful feeling of pure joy that settled inside of me as soon as I confessed her my sentiments.

I watched how Alex's eyes widened, the way her lips parted to take in the smallest sip of air, hearing how her breath hitched in her throat a moment later.

"I love you," I repeated the words, feeling as the first tear slid down my cheek for how incredibly good it felt to finally let out something that had kept growing in my chest for the last few weeks. "And the fact that now I know what you do, has not changed that. _nothing_ has changed that. All I want is for you to be safe... I couldn't bear if something happens to you. Again."

Alex kept looking at me with wide eyes filled with tears, as if she couldn't believe to what she was actually hearing, biting her lower lip to try to keep them at bay.

"I-I... don't wanna lose you Alex." Despite my best efforts, this time, my voice cracked completely as I thought about that great fear, but I continued anyway, speaking through the tears that were now streaming freely down my face as I finished my speech in the only way my heart and my soul permitted me to.

"I just want to be with you... And love you."

My fears, my emotions, my hopes for the woman I had in front of me, were now out.

I felt exposed, vulnerable and fragile like a wobbling glass placed on the edge of a table, waiting for that light whisper of wind that would have pushed me down, and for gravity to make me fall and shatter me on the ground... Afraid that what I confessed wasn't enough, afraid that she wouldn't have forgiven me.

Time seemed to slow down as I tilted my head down and closed my eyes tightly, not wanting to see the look on Alex's face, because I didn't want to read too much into it as I waited for an answer.

An answer that never came.

Not verbally at least.

But that came with a gesture.

A gesture that told me everything I needed to know, reassured me in every way it could, and took away every trace of insecurity I had, with the warm, softest, gentlest pressure of her lips against mine.

And at that point, as she kissed me with everything she had and everything that she had been holding back, a sob of joy broke from my throat and my body melted against hers, shaking for how overwhelmed I felt, as I kissed her back with the same passion and affection, drinking like a thirsty woman from an oasis in the desert, every emotions that she poured into that kiss.

 **. . .**

Words were simple.

Words were too common.

I could have confessed her the same.

But in that moment, I felt like it wouldn't have been enough.

What it was between Piper and I, what it was between _us_ , was anything but simple or common.

It hurt, it was exhilarating, it broke me into pieces and mended me all at once.

And only she was the one who could rebuild me from that handful of ashes left.

I've never been a woman of words. They had failed me, betrayed me more than once during my previous lives.

I was a woman of action, and only with an action I could respond to that confession.

I let my body speak for me, kissing her deeply, holding her like the fragile, most valuable thing that she was and that had ever happened to me.

Her lips parted automatically and I tasted the saltiness of her tears mixed with the unique sweetness of her lips, I felt the warm embrace of her tongue against mine, and for a brief second, I smelled her unmistikable scent when I refused to break the kiss to do something as meaningless as take in a proper sip of air to refill my burning lungs.

It was consuming, passionate, full of sentiment. Her hand was trying to bring me closer, pulling from the back of my neck, while mine were around her, holding her, embracing her so that there was not even an inch separating us.

But soon, all of that wasn't enough.

Not anymore.

And by the hungry, desperate way that Piper was kissing me, and by the way her hands started running down my front, starting from my neck and going under my jacket, I knew she was feeling the same.

She needed to feel me as much as I needed to feel her.

"Piper..." In between kisses, I managed to whisper her name in a plea before she assaulted my lips once again, but even if it was just a brief breathless whisper, she understood immediately what I meant with it.

She didn't need to hear my voice to know what I wanted, what I _needed_. She just had to listen to my body, just like any other time, even if this time, felt so deeply different respect all the others.

Her hands came up under the front of my jacket, just between my shoulder and chest, and in a slow, gentle movement, she removed it, leaving me just with my shirt and vest.

Find the zip of the beautiful dress she was wearing was easy, but as soon as my hands moved there on her back, and before I could even pull the zip down by an inch, my lover stopped me, breaking our passionate kiss.

It felt like someone had deprived me from air itself when she pulled her lips away from mine, but when my eyes fluttered open and I saw the look that was pure adoration and reassurance on her face, and that was making her clear blue eyes shine with a breathtaking comforting light, my protest died in my throat.

She took my hand, and without diverting her eyes from mine, she walked backwards, slowly leading us towards her bedroom.

It took just a few steps from where we were standing in her kitchen, and in that moment, I was incredibly glad that she had such a cozy little apartment, because I didn't know if I could have resisted more than ten seconds to feel her pressed against me once again.

There were no lights on in her bedroom except for the incredibly bright one of the full moon that was streaming throught the two windows beside the bed, and the first thing I noticed, was the effect that said light had on Piper's face.

It was simply stunning.

My eyes travelled lower, amazed by the warm effect that such cold white light of the night was having on her her neck and collarbone, looking at her entire figure, and at that point, the words just slipped from my lips.

"You look beautiful, Piper..."

I never meant those words more than how I meant them in that moment. And when my gaze returned up to look at her, I was met with one of those adorable shy looks that I had seen many times on her face, and even if the illumination in the room wasn't so great, I could have sworn that I had seen a warm blush spreading on her cheeks.

That sight was so delightful that I couldn't help myself and so I leaned in to kiss her another time, feeling as my heart skipped a beat when she responded to me just as eagerly, melting against me.

It never failed to surprise me how perfectly she fit in my arms, especially in that moment, after long days spent away from her and from her embrace.

"I'm not the one here who is truly beautiful, Alex..." She whispered against my lips when she pulled back from our kiss, and this time, for the first time, I was the one whom had to divert my gaze because of the sudden, unexpected rush of heat I felt on my cheeks when she said that and I heard the sincerity of her words in her smooth voice.

Her hands travelled over my abdomen, grazing the side of my breasts before she started to undo the buttons of my vest, one at the time, so deliciously slow that was both a torture and a bliss as I imagined the touch of those warm, skilled hands on my skin, as mine kept holding her around her waist, caressing her sides, and waiting patiently for my turn.

For how eager, hungry and thirsty I was to feel her warm naked skin under my palms, feel her muscles spasm and twitch with pleasure under my touch, and taste her skin and her pure essence on my lips and tongue, I also didn't want to rush things; I wanted to take my time and savour all of this, savour every second of this intimate moment with her.

My vest ended up on the edge of the bed and soon, she started with the buttons of my shirt, but this time, as the first inch of skin of my collarbone was revealed to her, she didn't limit herself to just look; she leaned in and started kissing my neck, slowly, softly.

My eyes fluttered shut as soon as her lips touched that particularly sensitive spot under my jaw, pulling out a deep groan from my throat as she continued, going lower and lower as my hands tightened a little the hold I had on her hips, both to bring her closer and to keep them still, and don't give into the desire to undress her by ripping her dress off because of my eagerness.

She looked stunning in it. Piper's beauty was simple, but not common. Her young skin, her shy smiles her tentative touch which had become more and more confident the more time she spent with me, were just a minimal part of all the things that I had noticed and that had me so much attracted to her... But there was more, so much more that before I knew it, I found myself drowning into the true, unique essence I found in her and that made me fall for her.

I looked down, realizing that she had just undid the last button of my white shirt, and not even a second later, I felt her tongue peak out and lick a small patch of skin on the swell of my breast, sucking it briefly in her mouth before placing a soft kiss on the same sensitive spot.

The sensation sent a pang of arousal right between my legs; my core clenched with desire and my heart fluttered wildly in my chest, pounding harder in my chest, so much that I could feel it jump in my throat with a sense of anticipation.

But those sensations lasted only for a few, too shorts seconds, because as soon as she pulled away my shirt and then my bra, leaving my upper part completely, and I felt her hands on the front of my pants, an overwhelming, unexpected sense of nervousness settled in my stomach, making me stop her movement before she could undo the first button there.

"Piper wait..."

I placed my hand above hers, watching as she pulled back from my chest, where she was leaving a trail a kisses, to look at me with a confused look and a barely visible trace of fear in her eyes. Fear that I might had reconsidered all of this, but all she needed to feel reassured once again, was just the touch of my hand as I moved aside a strand of golden hair before I pressed a soft, comforting kiss on her lips.

When I pulled back, that glint of fear was gone, but the look of confusion was always there, shadowing her beautiful features.

"It's just..." I shook my head and my voice trailed off when I looked down at my leg. She followed my gaze, and understood immediately what my concern was about.

It wasn't for the wound itself, but a great part of me was nervous, and -for how much I tried to push aside that sensation- even a bit afraid at the idea of her seeing me like that.

I remembered very clearly how she looked at me when I was in that hospital bed... The pain that she tried to cover up and that I had caused... I didn't want to upset her.

She had seen me at my worst, both physically, when I got injured, and emotionally, just like it had happened that same night. I regretted her seeing me in such conditions, yet she was there, even after she witnessed the ugliness and corruption that I carried inside me.

But Piper was a creature of art. A person whom was used to see beauty in everything that surrounded her, and she, being the beautiful, sweet girl that she was, in that moment, just looked at me with clear blue pools filled with adoration and reassurance as soon as her gaze returned to me, recognizing and reading the concern lying into my eyes as if it was her own.

"It's okay Alex... I understand. You don't have to worry about anything." It was incredible how much her words, the particular look that she gave me and that simple caress of her hand on my cheek managed to soothe my soul and ease my mind, even if not completely.

I took in a shaky breath as her hands reasumed their movement, undoing my pants and lowering them down a little before she helped me to sit on the bed, right on the edge of it.

My leg protested, and for how much I tried, I couldn't suppress the new grimace of pain that showed on my face or the low groan that escaped from my throat. But for how much I hated it, that pain was a reminded. A reminder that I had come so close, so incredibly close to not live this moment, to not see Piper ever again; her smile, hear her joyous laugh, her gentle voice... Hold her in my arms. I had been too close to not witness the sight that was before me in that moment.

I watched closely every move of hers as she pulled down the zip from the back of her dress, slowly, letting it drop silently in pool at her feet, and leaving her almost completely naked under my gaze.

For how much I wanted to be the one to undress her, in front of such beautiful sight, I couldn't certainly protest. Her eyes remained locked with mine for all the time, examining every one of my reactions, as I watched her stepping out from it, discarting her high heels in the process, before she knelt in front of me, right between my legs.

My hands gripped the edge of the bed and I trapped my bottom lip between my teeth; my whole body tensed up involuntarily as soon as I felt her hands on my upper thighs ready to pull my pants down for the rest of the way.

Piper noticed it immediately; she felt my sudden nervousness, but for as much as I was feeling like that, I didn't want her to think that I was having second thoughts about it, I didn't want to give in into my fears, and I certainly didn't want her to stop.

And she didn't.

As she pulled down both my pants and underwear and I helped her by lifting slightly my hips up, her eyes remained locked with mine in a silent reassurance, one that only she had been able to instill in me in such a powerful way only with a simple tender look.

My body shook, but not because of the slightly chilly air of the room. My heart started beating faster and my hands became suddenly sweaty but not only because I felt nervous.

I had done this hundredth of times, got naked in front of many different women, had sex with them...

But this...

This wasn't sex.

When the last garment was pulled away, leaving me naked, it was impossible to suppress that sensation that made me feel like it was the first time that I had been stripped from every barrier, deprived me of all my shields, leaving me completely exposed in front of someone.

"Oh, Alex..."

Piper's soft whisper caught immediately my attention and made me look down to see her gaze fixed on the wound on my leg as her fingertips traced the borders of the large medical bandage wrapped protectively there.

The tenderness in her voice, the lightness of her touch made my heart ache, as a lump formed in my throat and tears pricked my eyes despite my best efforts.

"I-I'm sorry that I can't offer you something whole, Piper..." My voice came out raspy, feeble and cracked a little towards the end, barely managing to keep the tears at bay, but I needed to tell her that. I wanted her to know how sorry I was, because I didn't feel worthy... Because I didn't feel enough for her.

And she knew that my apology wasn't just referred to the wound on my leg.

She was young, beautiful, smart and held that light of innocence and kindness in her spirit that despite all that she had been through, nothing had been able to blow it out, or to wipe the bright smile from her face.

And all I had to offer to her was a broken body, hands stained with blood -that didn't deserve to touch someone as beautiful and pure and she was- and a soul that was covered in deep scars and wounds that were still open.

Yet, after I said those words and dared to look at her for the first time, the sweet smile on her lips and the light of adoration shining into her eyes, told me the exact opposite of what my fears were making me believe.

She looked at me and shook her head as she stroked delicately my leg, just a few inches above the wound.

"You _are_ whole, Alex..." She corrected me, taking a small sip of air before she continued, but nothing would have ever prepared me for what I heard coming from her next.

"You are everything I've ever desired, everything I've ever wanted and so much more..." Her voice cracked, and as soon as I heard it, I felt the first tear slid down my cheek. "I just didn't know such thing could really exists..."

On that last part, I could only agree.

During the years, after all that had happened and all I went through, I had abandoned the idea that I could have found someone whom could have taken the pain away and made me feel just like a person once again. A human.

Yet, she was there, knelt in front of me and looking up at me as if I was her everything.

Even if she knew how fucked up, damaged and broken I was, she still wanted me.

"So, please Alex..." She continued, gently taking my hand in hers, the bruised one, the one I had used to protect her and the one she had medicated with such great care and attention, kissing the center of my palm before her eyes returned to me and she placed her other hand on my upper thigh. The next kiss she planted was on my knee, then another one followed, and I found myself spreading my legs further apart, almost unconsciously, as I leaned back on the bed to rest on my elbow.

"Let me take care of you..."

Another kiss, this time on my inner thigh, just a few inches above the wound, and the gesture was so sweet and her words were so meaningful, that I couldn't help but reach out my hand to cup her cheek before tangling my fingers through her soft blonde hair when she dipped her head between my legs and, without diverting her gaze from mine, she pressed a new delicate kiss on my center.

"Let me love you."

That was the last thing I remembered her saying to me before the sensation of her lips wrapped around me and the feeling of her tongue drawing slow, accurate circles around my clit, brought me into a dimension made by pure pleasure, where my lover showed me exactly how much I meant to her.

My eyes fluttered shut and in just a matter of seconds, the room was filled with the sounds of my loud moans and groans as she brought me closer and closer towards the edge.

So many were the things that we still needed to discuss, things that I needed to explain and confess to her like she had done with me, but nothing would have taken away this moment from us.

A moment of reconnection and comfort.

Soon, I would have showed her the same, and taken care of her just like she deserved.

* * *

 **Yep... Incredibly sappy. You should probably go brush your teeth now, you know, to prevent possible cavities.**

 **Oh, and for the ones who are expecting and waiting for a sex/sweet love making scene, I'll just say that you don't have to worry about it guys...Of course it's coming ;)**


	26. Chapter 26

Hey there!

I'm _so_ happy you liked the previous chapter! You guys... How can I ever thank you enough for all the incredibly flattering reviews you left and for all your kind words? :D Really, thank you so much to all of you for your support :) It means a lot to me, and maybe I can show you exactly how much with this veeery long chapter :D

Enjoy

* * *

Warm.

Smooth.

Velvety.

Alex's essence could only have been described as sweet liquid silk.

I could have spent my entire life between her legs, and still, it wouldn't have been enough for me.

Every groan of pleasure that I managed to pull out from her, every drop of juice that I earned from her source, and every involuntary twitch or spasm of muscles that my attentions on her most sensitive area caused in her, only made me desire for more and more.

I couldn't resist the temptation to spend a few moments to just kiss her outer lips and lick, to gather in my mouth, the juices there that had escaped to my accurate attentions only to swallow them down and moan against her flesh at the taste of her irresistible, delicious, unique flavor.

A few drops escaped and I couldn't resist the urge to lick my lips to clean every trace of her left there.

Her sweet nectar made me addicted.

Just like her intoxicating scent.

Alex's hips lifted slightly on their own will as a reminder that I had been teasing her, involuntarily, for too long, and that with that simple gesture, her body was trying to direct me and my attentions on the delicate spot where she needed me the most.

A silent plea that I couldn't have ignored for anything in the world, and when at that wordless invitation she added the touch of her hand on the back of my head, and slowly began to run her long fingers through my hair, that was the last thing I could take.

I took just a moment longer to look at her inviting glistening folds and see how they were parted to reveal the hard little bud of her clit that was begging for my attentions; its thin hood already pulled back completely, leaving the sensitive rosy tip exposed in the cool air.

A soft moan escaped from my lips in front of that beautiful sight, and not even an second later, I dipped my head for those last few inches to seal my lips around her, gently, swirling my tongue around her clit with precision a couple of times before I sucked her into my mouth.

The response was immediate. Her hips lifted slightly from the bed, the hold on the back of my neck tightened just a little, and all her body went rigid for a split second, until I released her, and at that point a low groan fell from her lips as she relaxed back.

My stomach clenched pleasurably when I heard that deep guttural sound coming from her, my heart fluttered wildly in my chest and my core pulsed with a combination of need and jealousy when I repeated the same motion, this time feeling as her clit twitched slightly between my lips when I sucked a little harder, right before a small flood of warmth coated my chin. And for how much I wanted to keep paying attention to her clit, as soon as I felt that new wave of heat spill from deep inside her, I simply couldn't resist the overwhelming urge to go lower and taste her right from there, from where her juices were pooling at her entrance.

I gripped her uninjured thigh in a gentle hold, spreading her wider to expose her completely to me, and then, after I placed one last soft kiss right on the tip of her clit, I ran my tongue for her entire length starting from her opening.

She shivered. The powerful muscles on her legs twitched under my touch, and I heard her breath shake when she exhaled to release another deep groan. A groan so loud that covered my own moan of delight when I tasted the essence at her entrance, swirling my tongue around the tight ring of muscle there, where she tasted stronger, saltier, but always so exquisitely sweet.

It made me desire for more, and since Alex seemed to enjoy this kind of attention as much as I was, I didn't hesitate, and just pushed the tip of my tongue past her entrance.

The heat, the slick wetness I found inside her and that sent a warm delicious shiver down my spine, was nothing compared to the sensation that made every nerve of my body tingle with desire when I felt her inner muscles clamping down tightly around me.

Through half lidded eyes, I admired the delightful sight of a moaning Alex arching her back off the bed. My gaze travelled north, starting from the mouth watering view of the strong sheets of muscles on her abdomen, reaching her soft prosperous breasts, until my eyes landed on the exposed column of her throat as she tilted her head back, watching with fascination as a couple of drops of sweat ran down her neck, following the length of the tendon there, glistening because of the light of the moon that was streaming in through the windows, before they landed on her ample chest.

I found myself moaning against my lover's center in front of that sight, and it was only in that moment, when I started to regain control of myself, that I realized that I was already pushing my tongue in and out of her.

I could only tease at penetration, but that didn't stop her inner muscles from clenching and fluttering around me whenever I pushed in; tightening even harder in an attempt to keep me there whenever I pulled back, and even if I knew that the pressure wouldn't have been enough to send Alex over the edge, it certainly seemed to please her very much.

I was well aware of how much Alex enjoyed to take her time and savor every moment. Normally, I would have increased my efforts, desiring nothing more than to feel her and watch her coming apart because of my devoted attentions, but this time, for how much a great part of me was eager to see that happen, the other one -the one that wasn't just lead by my lust and by the persistent throb between my legs, but that followed the increasing beats of the muscle in my chest- wanted to follow Alex's example.

She had been the first and only one with whom I never wanted to rush anything, even from the very first night when I met her, even before I could get to know her and all the little things about her that made me fall in love with the raven haired woman in just a matter of a few weeks. And that night, I had every intention to take as much time as my lover could take, because I wanted to show her all my devotion and all the love I felt for her by taking care of each one of her needs.

But despite what my first intentions were, it was Alex the one whom this time, for how surprising it was for me to feel that, seemed unable to control her growing arousal.

After just a few more minutes, her breaths started to become more shallow, her groans louder, and her hips started to lift more frequently from the bed, seeking for more of the warmth offered by my mouth.

A silent request that I could only satisfy more than eagerly, even if the idea of pulling back from the burning, oh so welcoming heat that I found inside her had me a bit reluctant.

I curled the tip of my tongue one last time, hearing how Alex's breath caught in her throat when with that small simple movement I managed to touch that particularly sensitive spot on her front wall before I pulled back completely, planting a few soft kisses on her inner thigh as my other hand came up to rest between her legs; I had every intention to keep pleasuring her with my mouth, but I couldn't give up the desire to feel her warm velvety walls wrapped tightly around me at the same time.

"Piper..." That whisper, the soft, almost insecure plea in it that seemed to echo in the silence of the room, caught my attention immediately, only to realize that my lover was still waiting for me. For a few moments I lost myself in her intoxicating smell, in the delicious flavor lingering on my lips and tongue as I continued to leave kisses on the smooth skin of her inner thigh, but after hearing that and the hint of vulnerability in her tone, I could only shift my attentions back to where she needed me the most, but not before I reassured her with one last kiss and a delicate caress this time on her other thigh, right above the medical bandage wrapped protectively around her injury.

"It's okay sweetie..." I soothed her softly. "Let me take care of you." I repeated those same words of before because I wanted her to trust me, and I wanted her to feel safe with me as much as I felt safe with her.

She didn't say anything else, but ran her hand through my hair, slowly, in a silent understanding and consent, and the gesture was just so incredibly tender in its simplicity that I couldn't help but turn my head and place a soft kiss on her wrist as my hand settled between her parted legs.

A new shiver ran through Alex's body and another deep groan left her lips as soon as I ran my index and middle finger through her slick folds, trapping her clit between them for a few seconds, feeling how swollen it was as I pinched it delicately.

With just that simple touch, Alex's sweet juices were already covering half of my palm.

It was the last thing I could take as a sudden much stronger wave of arousal overwhelmed me.

I felt my lover's body tensing with a sense of anticipation and excitement, heard breath hitch in her throat in the same moment I took her back in my mouth, wrapping my lips around her clit before I pushed past her entrance with my fingers, stretching her tight opening to slip inside of her in one smooth thrust.

I was welcomed by warm silky walls that hugged me tightly, fluttering around me when I sucked at her clit; a sensation so intense that took my breath away and made my heart skip a beat.

I didn't even have to wait for Alex to get accustomed to the new intrusion before I could start to thrust; she was so wet and so ready that my fingers slid inside her without meeting any resistance, at the exception of the one I always found whenever I pulled back and her inner muscles tightened possessively around me, trying to keep me there and pull me in even deeper.

The way her body responded to my touch had started to become more familiar, but each one of her reactions could always surprise me in their own unique fantastic way, and it never failed to make my heart flutter, especially in that moment, after I had witnessed a part of Alex that she had never allowed me to see so openly before...

Her vulnerability.

It was only a matter of a few seconds before we found the right rhythm and started moving together in perfect sync.

My senses were heightened, and I was completely intoxicated by everything I was feeling; from the sweet music of Alex's deep throaty groans, to the incomparable sensation of feeling how she responded to me from inside, with her always present sweet scent filling my nostrils, just like her exquisite essence kept pouring out of her to run down my fingers and into my palm, covering my mouth as I sucked and flicked my tongue across the very sensitive tip of her clit.

Unable to resist the temptation, when I felt her shiver and noticed how her moans were becoming much more frequent, I opened my eyes and looked up at her.

Drops of sweat were glistening on her stomach like dozens of shiny diamonds and I could see the way the strong muscles there were rippling with every shallow breath she took in. Her legs started trembling, her hips were now constantly following each one of my movements, her inner muscles were tightening and fluttering wildly around me as her clit twitched between my lips every time I sucked her in my mouth a little harder.

I was so taken by those sensations and by the ones that were running through my whole body, that it was only in that moment that I realized how incredibly close she was.

I moaned around her flesh, and the vibrations caused by it earned me a new louder groan from Alex. That sound and the realization that she was going to come in any moment sent a new, much stronger pang of arousal right between my legs.

I was dripping with passion and desire, and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was afraid it was going to explode for the intensity of the sentiment that I felt for the raven haired woman lying in front of me.

For how much I wanted to prolong all of this, even if for just a few more minutes, I couldn't ignore Alex's need, just like I couldn't ignore how much I wanted to feel her come in my mouth and around my fingers, so, I increased my efforts, sucking harder on her clit and curling my fingers to touch the most sensitive spots resting deep inside of her.

Follow the rhythm of her hips was difficult, as it was try to pull my fingers out after every thrust, but I never missed a beat.

She was so close.

She was almost there.

But after a moment, as I registered each one of her movements and noticed the way she was trembling, it seemed more like she was fighting it instead of embracing the sensation and let go to fall over the edge.

It confused and concerned me when I realized that in all of that, there was something missing.

A small particular that for how minimal it was, it certainly didn't pass unnoticed by me, because it was something that I had always enjoyed, ever since the very first time I had used my mouth on her.

It was her hand.

The one that she had placed on the back of my neck.

For all the time, her touch had been so different. She had never tried to guide me or hold me in place, and she had not even attempted to grab a handful of my hair as she was used to do when she was this close. She just kept it there. Tentatively...

And then I understood.

She was holding back.

Purposely.

Because, for how strange it could be to even think such thing about Alex, it was the only one that made sense to me in that moment.

And the reality was, that she was scared.

She was scared of what would have happened if she would have let go completely.

For how many barriers she had started to lower that night, there were still a few up, and I had every intention to help her to push them down so she would have let me in and see, _feel_ for herself that she had nothing to worry about, and that I loved her.

I didn't even have to stop and consider that thought, because as soon as it crossed my mind, I knew what would have made her stop fighting whatever she was feeling. I knew what would have pushed away all her fears and allowed her to embrace totally what I was giving her, both physically and emotionally.

I pulled back from her center only for a few seconds without removing my fingers but running my other hand up to her rippling stomach.

The touch caught immediately her attention, and knowing that she was barely balancing on the edge, I didn't waste time and just said what she needed to hear as an extra push to let her fall.

"Don't fight it Alex... You can come." And then, the last reassurance that she needed, the one that told her that I would have been right there to catch her.

"I'm here with you..."

I didn't even have to ask myself if she heard me.

She did.

And I was so sure of that, because not even a second later that those words left my lips, I felt her entire body go rigid. I saw her back arching off the bed as her inner muscles clenched impossibily tight around me, so much that I could no longer move, but continued to put pressure, curling my fingers on that sweet spot resting inside of her as she came.

My mouth returned on her, licking and sucking hard on her clit for all the duration of her apex as her body trembled and her muscles flexed repeatedly under my touch.

I moaned around her, both in relief that she had let go, and in bliss.

Feeling Alex come and hearing her loud moans as she reached that peak, was like nothing else in the world.

She didn't contain herself and didn't hesitate when she grabbed a handful of my hair, but when she did that, she did it lightly, without pulling, and with no trace of possessiveness or show of power, and for how much I adored those expressions of her being, I could only love so much more this new, gentler and incredibly loving way of the same small gesture; because it told me it was really her, there... With me.

I brought her down from her high, gradually; her hold on the back of my head loosened, her entire body started to relax and her inner muscles started to release my fingers, fluttering weakily around me every few seconds as she recovered and regained her breath.

Her hand let go of the hold it had on my hair, running her fingers through it another time before she placed it gently on my cheek, stroking the skin there with her thumb as I released her clit from between my lips and started pulling my fingers out of her, unable to suppress a small groan when I looked down and saw that a small amount of her juices had followed me on the way out of her.

If I didn't know that she had become too sensitive to bear more of my touch, I would have continued to lick her until there wouldn't have been a single drop of her left.

The gentle, tentative tug under my chin made me look up and realize that Alex had pulled herself up a bit on one elbow, still panting slightly after her intense climax as she looked down at me through half lidded eyes that, even in the partial darkness of the room, were shining like two emeralds.

It was impossible to miss the look of lust into them; I had seen it many times before, but this time... For how strong and captivating it was to see all that burning desire into those green pools, it was nothing compared to the new overwhelming light of adoration and sentiment that shone like a beacon.

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest and my core clenched with anticipation, and before I knew it, I was already on my feet and making my way up to her magnificent body, crawling on top of her, leaving kisses on her abdomen and breasts as we moved together further up on the bed.

Her hands felt like flames on my body as soon as she started running them up to my sides, sending warm shivers down my spine and making me incredibly aroused with every passing second as I straddled her waist and she sat up so that our fronts were pressed against the one of the other.

Neither of the two said a word.

There was no need.

As I cupped her cheeks in my hands and looked at her, I saw all that I needed to see reflected into those deep green eyes.

Alex knew what I wanted. I knew that she wanted the same, and I knew what she was feeling during those blissful moments.

She may had not confessed to me what I confessed to her, but her body, her touches and her looks, spoke louder than a thousand words.

Everything was silent and quiet around us, yet, in my heart there was a storm of joy and affection, one that only her touch on my body would have comfirmed even more and elated me beyond earthly confines.

We leaned in together and I melted further in her embrace as soon as her lips claimed mine in a gentle yet passionate kiss full of devotion.

I was unable to control my hips from rolling forward and grind my center against her stomach, knowing that she must have felt how wet and ready I was for her through my soaked underwear; a reminder that I wasn't completely naked yet, and something that Alex took care immediately, starting just as slowly as I had done with her before as I savored every second of it, enjoying every delicate touch down my back as she took her time to unclasp my bra without stopping to kiss me or interrupting the delicate touch of her fingertips down my spine, making me shiver with immense pleasure in the process.

Her hands always did the most beautiful things to my body, and I could only let her do whatever she wanted.

It was a slow torture.

It was the sweetest bliss.

It was Alex.

...and it was love.

 **. . .**

I tasted myself on her lips and tongue, mixed with her unique sweetness as we kissed passionately.

Deeply.

Slowly.

I felt her shivering in my arms and moaning softly into my mouth when I ran my hands down her shoulders and arms to remove the straps of her bra, finally leaving Piper's upper part completely exposed to me.

The temptation to break the kiss and look down at her bare chest when I put aside the black lace garment, was strong, but just the idea of separating my lips from hers and give up the warmth of her mouth, was unthinkable, so I decided to use my hands instead.

She was so deliciously warm against me and so incredibly smooth under my touch that it only made me desire for more. There wasn't a single inch of skin that remained neglected, and as I ran my hands down her back and slolwy up her sides and abdomen, there wasn't a spot that I touched that didn't drive Piper crazy with desire.

She was so responsive, even in the most simple places of her body, but I adored that I had this effect on her.

When I cupped her small breasts, her nipples were already hard, standing proudly and waiting for my touch as she pushed herself further against me, as much as the position could allow, and I didn't object.

She felt just so amazingly good on top of me. Pressed against me. It was all I needed to feel as I recovered from the heart-stopping orgasm I had just experienced, but feeling her like that, it also aroused me all over again, especially when I felt her grinding her center against my stomach as soon as I started playing with her nipples, flicking my thumbs across the hard little buds and pinching them lightly between my fingers.

She ripped her mouth away from mine and a loud, breathless moan left her lips, resonating around the room when I repeated the same motion a little harder. I was a little disappointed when she pulled away from the kiss, but when my eyes fluttered open and I saw her throwing her head back, exposing the delicious column of her throat, mouth hanging open in a silent scream and with an expression of pure bliss covering her face... That sight compensated for the loss of the passionate kiss.

She was so beautiful.

I groaned, and before I knew it, I was already pulling her towards me; one of my hands on the small of her back while the other kept playing with her nipple, delicately squeezing her breast as I started to leave a trail of kisses and teasing, gentle bites up to her neck.

The response was immediate. Her hands flew on the back of my head, tangling her fingers though my hair as she pulled me a little closer, encouraging me to continue with that simple gesture, and with all those sweet sounds that she was making.

I knew which were the most delicate spots on her neck; I had spent hours learning how her body responded to my touch and to the intensity I decided to apply on it, and in that moment I was reminding her of that. I was reminding her that I knew how to take care of her too, and she was enjoying it as much as I was. Probably more. But for how much I wanted to continue, and for how exciting I was finding all of that, I couldn't certainly ignore the wet patch that my lover had formed on my abs as she kept grinding her center against me.

She was soaked.

Her panties were drenched, and the fact that she was rocking her hips more frequently told me exactly how desperate she had become in just a few minutes, and that, was the only thing I needed to know.

I stopped teasing her nipples and pulled back from her neck with one last wet kiss under her ear, placing my hands on her hips to still her movement on top of me. But just like I was expecting, she protested.

"Please Alex... Please don't stop." She was breathless, and sounded close to complete desperation. A desperation that I could also see under the thick veil of arousal when her stunning blue eyes fluttered open and looked directly into mine.

"I have no intention to stop Piper..." I reassured her with a shake of my head as I ran my hands slowly up and down her thighs, pulling at the waistband of her underwear and watching how her eyes widened and became almost black with lust and desire as I continued; the softness never leaving my slightly raspy voice as I looked at her with nothing but pure adoration. "It's my turn to take care of you kid. Please... Let me show you."

I had every intention of taking care of her, in every way I could and in every way she would have let me... And I wasn't referring just to that moment.

There was no turning back from this night. I just wanted to make sure that she felt me, and felt that overwhelming emotion that was beating in my heart only for her.

Because even if I hadn't confessed it to her yet, my body couldn't lie, and so couldn't hers.

She nodded at me, cupped my cheeks in her hands and leaned in to kiss me softly on the lips.

It was a consent.

It was an "I trust you."

It was all I needed.

In one smooth movement I rolled us over so that she was lying on the bed beneath me as I rested right between her legs, which Piper had parted instantly, making space for me, and being extra careful to my injury as we found the right position.

A low groan rumbled in my chest and a small grimace of pain flashed across my face for a brief second because of the light discomfort caused by the movement; but for how brief that moment was, Piper noticed immediately that look on my face.

"You okay Alex? Did I hurt you?" Her voice sounded alarmed and her eyes widened with concern, but in front of that authentic worry, the slight pain in my leg was suddenly the furthest thing from my mind as my heart swelled with pure adoration for the young woman resting beneath me.

Even during such an intimate moment, where I should have been the one to take care of her as I had anticipated, she still worried for me.

I couldn't help but smile tenderly down at her as I caressed her cheek with my thumb.

"Everything's perfect, Piper..." I whispered, and those simple words, along with my delicate touch was enough to see her visibly relax once again, even if the hint of concern remained there in her clear blue pools.

I leaned in and kissed her deeply; I had every intention to reassure her in every way I could, and as soon as my lips touched hers, she didn't wait to part them and kiss me back with just as much tenderness and sentiment.

Our lips moved together, fitting so perfectly with the one of the other as if they had been created only for this purpose.

But it wasn't long before that softness turned into something more; into the same passion that had started to consume us not even a minute previous.

Her leg came up to rest around my waist and her hands started roaming over my shouder blades to go lower, running slowly at the sides of my spine, until she stopped on my lower back, lifting her hips up a little as if she was trying to bring our centers closer.

It was in that moment that I remembered that she was still wearing her underwear, and for how much I hated even just the idea of pulling back from her, I did, with more than a bit of reluctance, and I wasn't the only one whom protested.

Piper whimpered at the sudden loss of my lips from hers and at the warmth offered by my body when I pulled back, but that whimper turned into a moan of relief when, through her half lidded eyes she saw that my only intention for pulling momentarly away from her, was to undress her completely.

She helped me by lifting her hips, and I slid the last offending garment down her long legs as quickly as I could but still doing my best to keep the gesture gentle and not too eager, even if that was exactly how I was feeling in that moment.

I wanted to feel her.

Every part of her.

And she seemed to want just the same thing, but differently than me, she wasn't worried about showing exactly how much she wanted me.

My gaze dropped between her legs, watching with fascination as she parted them further with such elegance to give me a better view, and when every inch of her was completely exposed, I couldn't do anything to suppress the low groan that resonated in my chest in front of that sight.

She was glistening.

"God Piper... You're so wet."

The words slipped from my lips in a soft whisper without me even realizing it as I ran my hands up and down her bent knees, licking my lips when her sweet fragrance reached my nostrils as if I could taste her essence on my tongue by simply inhaling her scent.

"Only for you..." That unexpected, breathless admission, the look of pure adoration that she gave to me when our eyes met, sent a powerful shiver down my spine and made my heart skip a beat. Hearing her saying that I was the only one whom could do this to her, the only one whom could see her and have her like this, drove me crazy with lust and brought up the possessive part in me in less than a second.

Before I knew it, I was already leaning forward, hovering above her; one hand on top of her head to gently stroke her incredibly soft hair, while the other travelled down from her inner thigh.

My eyes remained locked with hers for the entire time, listening to how her breath quickened with anticipation the more my hand got closer to her center while I watched with fascination the way her blue eyes darkened with desire as she tried to keep her hips still.

"Please..." She begged me, moaning and shivering when I finally reached her core and cupped her in my hand, running my fingers through her soaked folds.

She tilted her head back exposing her long sensual neck, her eyes rolled back in her head, and her hands clutched at me as if I was her only answer, her only reason. For everything.

My heart ached.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful.

Feeling her like this was simply wonderful. Overwhelming. So incredibly good that I was having an hard time trying to concentrate, but then she said something, just a few words that pulled me out from that state of wonder and made me focus completely on her.

"I need you Alex."

That was it.

I couldn't deny this to her any longer. We both needed it.

With my heart jumping furiously against my ribcage, I leaned in to kiss her another time, and when I pulled back, I whispered the only truth she needed in her ear.

"You have me."

She didn't have time to say anything else, because as soon as the words left my lips, I thrust two fingers deep inside of her, and at that point, the only sound that left her throat as she clung desperately to me, was a sob of relief.

Even if there was no need to, I remained still for a few seconds just to enjoy the familiar tight heat that I felt surrounding when I slipped in, feeling how eagerly she accepted me in, and starting to thrust in and out of her only when her inner walls fluttered around me.

Her moans of pleasure filled the room and made my heart swell with sentiment as I kissed, licked, sucked and bit lightly her neck, her breasts, and every other inch of skin I could reach from that position while I kept pleasuring her with my hand, going as deep inside of her as I could and curling my fingers on that particularly sensitive spot on her front wall that was already swollen with need.

She wasn't going to last long. But that was okay. I didn't want her to last.

I wanted to watch her come. I wanted to _feel_ her come, feel her release spill out from her to paint my stomach and hand in her sweet juices, and by the way her breathing was becoming more rapid and shallow, and her inner walls started clenching more frequently around me, I knew that I didn't have to wait much longer.

She was almost there.

I pulled completely out of her, claming her lips in a soothing kiss when she whimpered for the sudden loss, but hearing as that soft whimper became a much louder moan when I filled her once again adding a third finger.

Piper adored that sensation. The stretch. She enjoyed to feel the light burn caused by it, and since the first time I noticed the effect it had on her, it was impossible not to adore it myself.

Watching her eyes roll back in her head as an expression of pure pleasure covered her face, feel her breasts pressed against mine as she dug her nails into my back hard enough to break the skin there, and feel her inner muscles going crazy around me, trying to pull me in even deeper, was one of the most arousing thing I had ever experienced.

And even if it was still incredibly exciting to feel her that way, that night there was something else added to what I was feeling, something that wasn't connected with sex itself, but that certainly amplified everything we were both experiencing.

I knew what it was.

It was the same sentiment that Piper had confessed to me. The same one that she had showed to me just a few minutes previous, and the one that, even if I hadn't admitted it to her yet, I was showing to her in that moment, hoping more than anything that she could feel it with every passionate kiss, with every tender touch on her skin.

One of her hands found its way on the back of my neck and pulled me down to kiss me at the same time I started wiggling my fingers inside of her. Her hips lifted to try to take me in deeper, and she wrapped one of her leg around my waist to give me more space.

The spot on her front wall was so swollen that I knew she was ready to come, she just needed that extra push to fall over the edge, and I had no intention to make her wait for that.

I pulled back from the kiss to look down at her as I placed my thumb over her clit and started circling it while I kept thrusting inside of her.

"Alex..." She looked at me with dark eyes filled with lust and veneration as she sobbed my name, breathless.

And it was all I needed to see and hear to give her what she so desperately needed.

I thrust my fingers inside of her one last time, going as deep as I could and curled them forward, repeatedly, to put pressure on that sweet spot on her front wall, circling her clit at the same time.

She gasped.

Her eyes widened.

"Come for me Piper." I encouraged her.

And she did.

A split second later, her back arched off the bed, her mouth fell open, her inner muscles clenched tightly around me, her entire body went rigid...

And then she fell.

My name left her lips in a loud scream that echoed around the room as the first powerful flood of warmth spilled from deep inside of her and covered my entire hand, my wrist, my forearm, and even part of my stomach.

Even for her, it was really impressive.

But that wasn't the only surprise, because not even two seconds after her climax had started, I felt Piper's hand reach between my legs.

Then her voice caressing my ears in a quick, breathless, unexpected request.

"Come with me Alex."

I didn't even have time to answer to her.

Three strokes.

Three strokes across my still very sensitive clit and those few simple words were enough to send me flying over the edge with her.

I buried my head in the crook of her neck and grabbed a handful of the sheets at my side, fisting them tightly as we came together, moaning each other name. My hips jerking against her hand while I kept circling her clit, feeling as more warmth poured out of her and coated my hand.

Our movements were frantic, broken, uneven as we both spasmed and tried to follow the rhythm of the other, but the pleasure that ran through us was immense.

I knew that touching her, feeling and watching each one of her reactions as I brought her closer to what she need was driving me insane with desire, but I was so focused on her pleasure that I hadn't realized how close I was until I felt her hand on me.

Apparently she felt what I needed more than I did, and that was the proof of how much she knew me, and how well she could read my needs by simply looking at me and listening to my body.

When the aftershock rocked through us, it took every drop of strenght I had left in me to not collapse on top of her. My body was trembling so violently after that last orgasm, and I was still trying to regain my breathing, just like Piper was currently doing; her warm, heavy breath caressing my ear as she gasped for air while running her hand through my hair and massaging my nape in a sweet, tender gesture that made my heart flutter in my chest.

We were both spent.

But we were both beyond content.

I pulled back from her neck to look at her, and meet a pair of beautiful clear, bright blue eyesfluttering open.

She was still panting slightly, but nothing, not even her short breath stopped her from leaning in, allowing me to press my lips against hers in the softest, gentlest kiss.

I just couldn't resist. And I didn't have a reason to.

As we kissed, I started to pull out from her, slowly. Even though I knew how much she enjoyed feeling me inside after she came, I knew it was probably becoming a bit uncomfortable for her.

She didn't protest, but to compensate for the loss, she tightened her hold around my shoulders as I shifted to stay at her side, finding a more comfortable position for us both, and being extra careful to my leg as I did so, relieved that I wasn't feeling after our passionate moment.

It felt so good to stay so close to her, so _right_ , so beautiful that seemed unreal.

I _needed_ to feel her so close to me after this.

...It was a comfirmation.

The delicate caresses of her hand on my side and hip helped me to recover more easily; the warmth of her body against mine made me feel safe and calm like nothing else, and her soft kisses filled me with sentiment, mending my wounded soul with the love she felt for me. And with those, simple, gestures, she wanted to reassure me; she wanted to let me know that she was still there, and that what we had just experinced was real.

I allowed myself to relax, to melt into her loving embrace as she pulled me closer, but before I could let go completely, before I could lower all my defences and surrender to that bliss, I pulled back.

There was one last thing I needed to see.

"You okay sweetie?" Piper voice was soft, a light whisper in the silent room, but the concern in her tone and eyes as I put more distance between us, was unmistikable, and it was heavy.

A smile tugged at my lips as I saw the sincerity in her stunning blue pools; the depth and the purity of the sentiment she felt for me as she stroked my cheek affectionately and moved aside a strand of hair behind my ear with the gentlest touch.

A lump formed in my throat as I wondered what good could I had ever done in this life to have this beautiful, smart, passionate young woman there in my arms, and then wondered what I would have ever done if she would have ran away from me another time.

"Piper?" I looked at her with tears filling my eyes, unable to prevent my voice to crack when I whispered her name, sounding more weak and fragile than what I had heard myself sound in a very long time.

"Yes? What is it Alex?" She sounded definitely worried now as she examined my face and noticed the tears that had formed in my eyes, but before she could pull herself up, I stopped her, taking her hand in mine and bringing her even closer as I prepared myself for what I needed to ask her next, looking right into her eyes and finding strenght in the undying emotion that I saw shining like a flame for me into those blue pools.

I swallowed, hard, looking down at our joined hands, and when I looked up at her a moment later, I let out the one that was my greatest fear in a feeble plea. "Please... Don't ever leave me again."

It came out raspy, broken... Weak. Just like I felt when I remembered the painful nightmare that had been the past few days without her.

And as soon as the words left my lips, I watched how even Piper's eyes filled with tears and how her beautiful young features darkened with sorrow and... Guilt.

"Oh, Alex..." She sobbed, and then she bent, cupping my cheek in her hand before she pressed her lips against mine, kissing me with everything she had. And if that wasn't a good enough answer for me, if the sincerity of her apology and the still present traces of regret and pain that I felt in her kiss weren't enough, when she pulled back, she gave me a real one; the only one that my heart could stand.

"I won't baby. I'm here with you... I'm not going anywhere Alex."

A wave of relief that I didn't know I could even possibly feel washed over me, making me smile through the few tears that had escaped and that Piper was kissing away.

It was like I could finally start breathing once again after I heard her saying that; the massive weight in my chest and the cold shadow that had been obscuring my spirit for the past days, were finally gone. But with that feeling of lightness and brightness I felt from the inside, it became more easy to feel the other small weight that I carried.

And I didn't have to ask myself what that was about. I knew perfectly what it was, and I knew that I couldn't hold it back anymore, not after she had reassured me like she did, pushing aside that deep fear that I felt of possibly being hurt again, and being left back with nothing but a burn and a broken heart.

After one last kiss on the corner of my mouth, she pulled back and laid on her side, facing me, snuggling closer to me before she started to run her fingertips across my hip and stomach.

"Piper?"

Her name slipped from my lips and my heart started to beat faster when she shifted her gaze and looked at me. A sweet, sleepy smile on her beautiful face.

"Yes?"

My hands became suddenly sweaty, heat rushed to my face and my mouth went dry.

A long second of silence passed as I looked into her bright blue eyes holding my breath, and then...

"I love you Piper."

And this time, as those words left my lips directly from my heart, she was the one who couldn't hold back the tears.

She leaned in and kissed me with everything she had left in her as I wrapped my arms around her.

When she pulled back we were both breathless, but she managed to answer me with a soft whisper.

"I love you too Alex."

A brief pause.

A bright smile on her face.

A new tear rolling down her cheek.

"So much..."

My heart fluttered and a moment later I pulled her down for another kiss.

After all that had happened that night, both physically but especially emotionally, it was only a matter of few minutes before exhaustion took us both.

We fell asleep like that.

Facing each other.

And the last thing I remembered feeling before sleep claimed me completely, was the warmth of her body against mine when she snuggled closer, the feeling of a blanket covering me, and a soft kiss being placed on my lips.

* * *

 **Again... Remember the toothbrush guys :)**


	27. Chapter 27

Ho Ho Ho! Hey there!

Okay, before we start, I have an announcement about the story... I think that someone already suspected this, a few others however... Ahem... *Please don't hate me!*

The thing is that... Yes, this story is coming to an end. I'm so incredibly flattered that some of you guys wanted me to keep going forever. Really this is such a great compliment for me that I don't even have words to say how much your excitement and passion for my "little" story makes me happy :) But yeah... Going on forever seems quite the challenge...

I think I'll write other five, maybe six more chapters... Loooong chapter tho, filled with Vauseman :D So I hope that will help...

Anyway, now that I've answered the question that a few readers have asked, I'll leave you to the new chapter :)

Enjoy

* * *

Warm, soft lips leaving a trail of kisses down the back of my neck and a strong, yet gentle hand running down my side, were the first things I registered when I started to wake up that morning after the best sleep I had in a very long time.

The sensations were so light and delicate that in my half asleep state I was having a hard time trying to understand if it was real or if I was still dreaming. But as soon as I inhaled deeply and my nostrils filled with a very familiar scent, memories from the previous night, whispers of touches, kisses and many incredibly delightful sensations were immediately brought up, and an immense sense of calm, serenity and happiness settled inside me.

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest when I inhaled that unmistakable fragrance, and I sighed in contentment with a smile already playing on my lips as I snuggled closer to the warm body resting behind me.

Now I knew it was all real.

I kept my eyes closed, and even if the part of me that was waking up was eager to turn around and look at the beautiful raven haired, green eyed woman I knew I would have met behind me, the other small part of me that was still stuck in dreamland wanted to savor that moment just for a little longer, desiring nothing more than to just stay there and enjoy the sensation of those soft lips on my skin, and the one offered by those long, very skilled fingers that were now running oh so deliciously slowly across my stomach. The tenderness, the gentleness of that touch, made the skin there tingle and, when she came across a very sensitive spot near my hipbone, her fingertips tickled me, making me squirm and giggle in her arms. An unexpected reaction that surprised even myself, but that earned me a throaty, deep, amused chuckle from the woman whom was spooning me.

That voice, _her_ voice, even hearing it in a simple soft laugh, had the most beautiful effect on me; it was a sound that touched places inside of me that I didn't even know existed.

Just a moment later, she repeated the same movement on purpose, but this time, just when another much louder laugh was ready to escape from my lips, that hand that had been teasing me for the past few minutes, changed direction and went suddenly lower.

The laugh died instantly in my throat and a long slightly raspy moan fell from my lips instead when I felt her cupping me gently between my legs.

A shiver ran down my spine at the immediate contact and goosebumps raised on my skin when I felt her hot breath and the tip of her nose caress that delicate, magic spot resting right behind my ear.

 _God... The things that this woman can do to me with a simple touch_ , I thought, without realizing that my hand was already out from under the blankets and that, without turning in my position, it had reached back and found its way on the back of Alex's head.

Unable to keep it still, I started to run my fingers through that thick soft black mane. Pulling her a little closer. Encouraging her with my touch and with a new moan that slipped from my lips when her teeth grazed my earlobe at the same time her hand moved just a little lower to seek more contact with my center. And at that point, the only way that my body permitted me to respond to her tentative touch, was to part my legs, spreading them a little further to give access to that very talented, incredibly skilled hand.

A consent. A silent invitation that was immediately accepted.

My breath hitched in my throat as soon as I felt her ran her fingers delicately, slowly through my folds, hearing her low, dangerous groan resonate from her chest when she was greeted by liquid heat.

It wasn't much of a surprise to find me already slick with desire; apparently, all those innocent kisses and teasing caresses that had slowly brought me into the waking world, had done somuch more than what I thought, and the effect they had on my body turned out to be way beyond _innocent_.

My lips parted when she trapped my clit between two of her fingers, but no sound came out from my mouth as I tilted my head back, leaving my throat completely exposed to my lover's attention, who, just as I expected, didn't waste time, shifting a little in her position before she pressed her lips right under my jaw, leaving a tender wet kiss there before she sucked briefly at the same sensitive spot.

My eyes remained closed, but behind my eyelids I could perfectly see the golden light of the morning sun that was streaming through my bedroom windows. It was so bright, and it warmed my face in a very pleasant way... But that sensation was nothing compared to the warmth that I felt coming off the body resting behind me, and to the sensation of those feminine, sinuous curves melting so perfectly against mine.

I pushed back, almost unconsciously, because I wanted to feel more of her, letting out a new moan when all I felt was smooth bare skin.

The temptation to turn around and ran my hands all over that magnificent body became even stronger, so much that my hands started to itch with desire, but before I could even move -as if the ever vigilant woman resting behind me had already predicted my intentions- she increased the pressure between my legs, so that her touch, from teasing and tentative, became much more secure as she focused on the hard little bud of my clit, circling it with the pads of her fingertips, an at that point, as my eyes rolled into the back of my head and my hips rolled forward to seek even more contact, the idea to move from that position was pushed out from my mind along with any other coherent thought.

Even after all the times that we had been intimate, it never failed to surprise me how she could do this to me; how she could drive me crazy with desire in a matter of few short seconds. It was part of the great mystery that was Alex.

All I knew, was that in her hands, under her expert talented touch, I always turned into mush.

And that morning, was no exception.

She sped up her movement, but still managing to keep it incredibly accurate as she drew small perfect circles over my clit while at the same time she kept leaving wet kisses and occasional soft bites down my neck; a combination that sent me in heaven.

My arousal skyrocketed, my core clenched, and a new flood of warmth poured out of me, coating my lover's fingers, who groaned right under my ear at the sensation and went immediately lower to tease my opening.

It took every drop of self control I had left not to roll my hips forward and try to take her inside, knowing that if I gave in into that temptation, the raven haired woman would have probably teased me even more and made me wait longer for what I so desperately needed.

Feeling her inside me was like nothing else I had ever experienced before; she had easily discovered all my weakness, she knew all the most sensitive spots resting deep inside me that could drive me insane with lust, and she knew how to make me come in a matter of seconds with the right pression and movement. And if waiting a few more agonizing seconds was the price that I had to pay before I could feel that glorious, incomparable sensation of my lover's fingers sliding down to slip inside me... Then it was worth it.

I kept my hips still, barely managing to suppress a sob of desperation as she kept circling my tight slick entrance, pressing just barely inside, less than a millimeter of her finger before she pulled back, leaving me on a dangerous edge.

She loved to keep me like that. She knew what kind of effect it had on me. And most of all, she knew that by making me desperate, my orgasm would have been much more intense when it would have arrived. More violent. _Explosive_. So much in fact, that I would have probably forgotten even my own name for the first few seconds. But that wasn't the first time.

Keeping control was becoming more difficult with every shallow breath that I took in, and my lover's devoted attention to the most delicate spots on my neck wasn't making things any easier. I couldn't lift my hips to take her inside, and even if I was ready to beg her, my voice was nowhere to be found at the moment, so, in a desperate attempt that she would have been merciful, I did the only thing I could think of, hoping that it would have been enough for her and that it wouldn't have prolonged a minute longer this slow bitter-sweet torture.

I spread my legs wider, as far as I could open them in that position, giving her a very clear invitation and encouraging her further by clenching my inner muscles on purpose when she teased at penetration. It was weak, but I knew she felt it. And by the low guttural groan that I received back right before she sank her teeth into the side of my neck, making me scream for the delicious combination of incredible pleasure and pain, I knew I had succeeded.

I didn't even have the time to take a sip of air, because just a moment later, I was completely overwhelmed by the gratifying sensation of my lover's fingers finally slipping inside of me in one smooth thrust.

Heat rushed through my body, my back arched, my hand tightened its grip on the back ofAlex's head and my lips parted. I remained breathless for the first few seconds, but then, as she pulled out and then pushed back in, deliberately hitting that glorious spot on my front wall in the process, a sound that was a combination of a sob and a moan escaped from my throat, followed by a raspy, breathless "Oh, Alex..." as my features contorted with pure pleasure and my inner muscles clenched tightly around those long fingers resting deep inside of me.

God... She felt _so_ good inside me.

So deliciously good.

And having her naked body pressed against my back, only made everything much more intense.

Calling her name sent her wild; at this point even she couldn't restrain herself. She had been playing for too long, and the reactions that she had pulled out from me with her teasing touch, hadn't just affected me evidently. But that was more than okay for me.

Feeling a lust driven Alex was probably the most arousing thing that I had ever witnessed _and_ experienced. And as soon as I registered in what kind of mood she was exactly in, I knew that my orgasm was going to be just around the corner.

Her thrusts were steady, but not hard or too fast; she wanted to feel me. Every part of me, just like I wanted to feel every inch of her that she was offering to me.

And I felt her. I felt her every time she pushed in; her fingertips hitting that same spot over and over as her palm kept rubbing my clit making my inner walls flutter around her.

My moans kept increasing of volume, becoming more frequent and following her same rhythm as she brought me closer towards the edge.

The spot on my neck, the one where she had bit me under my jaw, was pulsing, and I knew that it would have probably showed later, but the hint of pain, the slight burn caused by it, and the thought that she had left her sign on me, it only added much more pleasure to the one she was already giving to me.

My hips were now lifting uncontrollably, my other hand was fisting the bed sheets in a strong grip, and feeling the raven haired woman's warm breath caressing my ear and the side on my neck sent a series of such powerful shivers down my spine that made me tremble all over.

I was so close.

And there was only one thing that would have pushed me over the edge.

My eyes fluttered open, greeting the bright, warm light of the sun that was illuminating my small bedroom with such intensity that had me blink a few more times before I could be able to focus on the surrounding, and as soon as my vision got accustumed to the light, I didn't waste time and just turned a little in my position, giving a gentle tug to the back of my lover's neck.

She responded immediately without interrupting her magical touch between my legs, and as soon as I saw her, as soon as those deep bright green pools came into view, showing also the few amazing golden flecks that I had noticed so many times around her pupils, my heart skipped a beat and all the air was suddely sucked from my lungs.

Her long black hair was framing her gorgeous face so beautifully, her perfect alabaster skin seemed to glow because of the sun rays, and her lips were curled into a small tentative smirk. The same irresistible, confident smirk that for how much I didn't want to admit it, could turn my knees into jelly in a second. But even if that very particular smile had appeared on her face, in her eyes, into those deep emerald pools, I saw nothing but love.

The same love that I knew she could see shine into mine under the thick clouds of lust and desire.

And this time, as her fingers kept pumping in and out of me, I didn't even have to give the obvious tug on the back of her neck to bring her closer, because just a moment later, she did it.

She leaned in, claiming my lips in a kiss that was pure sweetness and adoration.

My eyes fluttered shut and I melted immediately. I didn't even complain when she pulled out of me and focused on the hard little bud of my clit; at that point I was so far gone that nothing she would have done would have made me protest in any way.

I came just after a couple of strokes.

My entire body went rigid for a split second, and the I fell.

Screaming into her mouth.

Clutching at the sheets and at the back of her neck for dear life as one of the most powerful orgasms I had ever experienced shattered me into pieces.

Only the no longer ignorable lack of oxygen made me, reluctantly, rip my mouth from hers in order to refill my burning lungs with a sip of air.

"Oh God..." It came out breathless, barely above a whisper as I panted tilting my head back and releasing a new louder moan when Alex took advantage of the position to suck at my pulse point, never stopping the fast, yet incredibly accurate movement of her fingers between my legs as I kept coming. She groaned against my slightly sweaty skin, mumbling my name when a small gush of warmth spilled out from me and landed on her hand; it would have been much more _abundant_ if she would have stayed inside, but that didn't mean that my climax wasn't mind-blowing anyway.

She kept touching me as my body shook through the aftershock, gently, until I was completely spent, and then, only when she knew I had become too sensitive to bear more of her touch, she stopped, cupping my sex protectively in her hand as she placed soft, sweet kisses along my throat and jawline, feeling as a smile started spreading on my face for the show of such tenderness.

I hummed in contentment, running my fingers through her hair and snuggling closer to her warm body without turning; for how _unusual_ that position was, I actually found it comfortable. Feeling her pressed so tightly against me, made me feel safe and protected like I never felt before in my life.

She laughed softly against my jaw when I closed my legs, trapping her hand there as if I never wanted her to leave, and that sound, that deep, throaty chuckle didn't fail in sending a warm shiver down my spine and in making my heart skip a beat.

When I felt that I had recovered enough, I turned my head for those last few inches and let my eyes flutter open, feeling as the smile on my lips widened further when I was greeted by the sweet one on my lover's face.

"Good morning sleepyhead." She whispered. Adoration, and just a hint of amusement filled her deep voice as green eyes sparkled with love.

In front of such sight I simply couldn't resist, and I had no reason to, so I just leaned in and pressed my lips against hers in the softest of kisses, remaining not even a bit surprised that when I pulled back, the sweet smile on her face had turned into a full smirk, as if she thought that it would have been enough to fool me and distract me from the warm blush that I noticed spreading slowly across her cheeks.

"So... Is this your way to say good morning now?" I asked her with an arched eyebrow and tightening the muscles on my legs, deliberately squeezing lightly the hand that I had trapped between them for emphasize.

She chuckled, propping herself up on her elbow to look down at me. "Yes, but don't worry, it's a special one that I'll reserve only for you kid." This time she was the one whom leaned in for the rest of the way to press a kiss on the corner of my mouth, succeeding, for the second time, in making me blush furiously and giggle like a school girl with a massive crush.

I loved when she called me _kid_. I never had anyone special whom had ever called me with some kind of term of endearment, and for how simple the one chosen by Alex was, the way she said it never failed to make my heart flutter wildly.

"I hope so!" I teased back through a soft laugh, making her chuckle. "And I admit that I wouldn't mind being woken up like this." I confessed a moment later deciding to turn in my position to face her completely, releasing her hand that from between my legs she moved it to rest on my hip, pulling me a bit closer to her and making me gasp softly when I felt how wet and slick her fingers were; the reminder of the breathtaking, heavenly pleasure that she had brought to me just a few minutes previous.

"But," I continued, looking up at her, then down her long elegant, sensual neck until I reached her collarbone and naked shoulder without realizing that I had trapped my lip between my teeth from keeping to moan out loud in front of so much perfect, smooth alabaster skin.

"...only if I can return the favor afterwards." I managed to conclude in a raspy voice after I swallowed, hard, several times, and when my eyes returned to meet hers, this time I was the one whom started blushing when I saw the wide satisfied smirk playing on her full lips as I started running my hand down her chest, passing between her soft breasts, lightly ranking my fingernail across her sculpted stomach, unable to resist the temptation and feeling as my mouth watered when I felt the strong muscles there twitch under my touch.

Her body was magnificent.

Every inch of her was perfection.

I was brought back from all the thoughts and ideas that had started to gather in my mind about all the things I would have liked to do to her, by a new tender kiss being placed on the tip of my nose.

I was so distracted that I didn't even saw her leaning in, but when she pulled back and our gazes met, I noticed that the cocky smirk that had been there not even a minute before, was nowhere to be found, and that a real, authentic, soft smile had taken its place.

"I would like that very much..." She replied to my allusion, pulling me even closer. "But first..."

Her gaze dropped and she started tracing my ribs with her thumb from under the blankets in a hesitant and distracted way that had me a little concerned, until she raised her head once again and I saw the almost timid look on her face and the love shining in her eyes that left me immediately breathless.

"...can I just hold you for a little bit?"

The tentativeness, the vulnerability in her voice and the small, tender smile that she gave me as she asked me that question, filled my heart with an overwhelming combination of joy and love while at the same time, it filled my eyes with tears and brought a wide smile on my face.

See the powerful, confident, brave woman that I knew, turn into this adorable, softer version of herself, melted my heart instantly.

I didn't answer right away, but leaned in to plant a small tender kiss on her lips.

"Of course you can... You don't need to ask sweetie." I reassured her when I pulled back, meeting the new much more secure smile on her lips before I settled down and snuggled closer to rest my head against her chest.

Her request should have surprised me a little, but it didn't. I understood perfectly her need to feel me close to her in this simple, yet _complete_ way.

She kissed the bridge of my nose and I sighed with contentment for what seemed the tenth time since I woke up; feeling her so close had that magnificent effect on me.

Sex could wait. And for how much I wanted to give her the same pleasure she had given to me and cherish every inch of her body with the attentions and gentleness she deserved, I would have never denied her anything. Especially not this simple, timid, incredibly sweet request.

With sex we could express and reaffirm the deep affection we felt for each other, but I could perfectly feel how much she loved me even by the way she held me so close to her, keeping her arms wrapped protectively around me.

And even if making love to Alex was certainly a great way to start a day, waking up with her warm naked body pressed against mine, inhaling her strong unique scent, and feeling her hands running slowly up and down my back, was just as perfect.

 **. . .**

It was so good to feel her in my arms, just as good as it was to be held in hers.

I felt loved in her embrace.

 _Accepted._

Hoping that she could feel the same and even more.

I wanted her to feel safe when she was with me.

I wanted her to feel protected.

I tightened a little the hold I had around her and she hummed happily, snuggling even closer before placing a soft kiss on my collarbone while her hand started running up and down my side and hip, then going lower, until she reached my thigh and the bandage wrapped protectively around my injury. And at that point, I found myself holding my breath, unconsciously, as if I could already hear the question from her thoughts when she started to play nervously with the hem of the gauze.

The idea that such peaceful moment could be interrupted because of _that_ , made me feel nervous. But unfortunately, just like I expected, only a few moments later, right after I heard her releasing a slightly shaky sigh full of tension, I heard her asking me exactly the same question that I had predicted.

"Does it hurt?"

Her small, almost tentative voice was filled with concern when I heard the words leave her lips in a tone that was just barely above a whisper.

I took a few moments to consider how to answer as I continued to ran my hand up and down her spine.

Truth was that I was sore.

More than sore actually...

My entire leg ached.

It wasn't unbearable, but now it was no longer completely ignorable either.

What Piper didn't know, was that that morning I woke up because of the pain, and that I had to disentangle myself from her embrace as she slept and dreamed a few hours previous to check for myself if I hadn't maybe torn a few of the stitches open or something.

The events of the previous night had put my injury under a great stress; I had done a lot of things that I shouldn't have been doing, and the only reason because I couldn't feel the pain in those moments, was because of the adrenaline that was pumping into my veins, and because of Piper's 'passionate attentions and show of love' later that same night, that made me feel only pleasure, pushing aside anything else, especially all the unpleasant thoughts.

But now that I was awake and with no drug, chemical or naturally produced by my body, running through my system, I could perfectly feel the pain. And even if I only had my strong willpower to thanks for managing to keep the pain under control, try to resist to the persistent itching sensation due to the healing process, was becoming a real challenge even for me.

But Piper didn't need to know that.

I hated to lie to her.

I hated to lie to a person that I loved.

Only the idea was enough to make me feel bad.

But my distraction and incompetence in doing my job right, had already caused pain to the two persons that I loved the most; first to my best friend, and now, for the second time, to the young beautiful woman resting in my arms.

But for how much I hated not to be completely honest, I hated to hear the worry in her voice and see the look of concern and pain clouding the bright light in her eyes much more.

I shook my head, swallowing hard and waiting for a second longer before I let out a small, slightly raspy "No..."

It came out pretty convincing, more than what I first thought. And I knew that it would have probably worked...

...If only I hadn't forgotten for a second the major detail that she was one of the two persons in the world who could read me perfectly, even from something as minimal as it had been the answer that I had just offered to her.

A moment later she pulled back from my chest, and in that short second that followed I could already picture in my head the look flashing across her features when she would have looked at me and realized that I wasn't being honest.

And just like I expected, there it was.

As soon as her face came into view, a doubtful, sad expression greeted me, and she recognized immediately the authenticity of the lie by the way I tried to smile weakily, forcedly, before diverting my gaze and looking down when I couldn't take it anymore.

I was a former Federal Special Agent. I had been trained to mask my emotions. I had been trained to lie in such a convincing way that I could have fooled even myself. Yet, in front of my lover's deeply, heartbreaking, sad look, all my years spent in the Bureau and all the training I had received and that could have made me lie in the most dangerous and stressful situations without even increasing my heart rate by a single beat, were useless.

In my attempt to reassure her and not see the hurt and concern darkening her beautiful features, my lie managed to do exactly what I wanted to avoid the most.

"Alex..."

That soft whisper.

The light, gentle touch of her hand on my cheek.

I raised my head to look at her before I could even realize it, and when I looked into her eyes, and saw the acceptance, the affection, the warmth lying into them, I found myself unable to divert my gaze.

"Please... Don't lie to me Alex."

She didn't sound mad. She wasn't angry or upset.

She just looked so incredibly sad and maybe even a little disappointed.

I could have easily denied the accusation, but... As I looked into her clear blue pools filled with love and autenthic concern, I knew that I couldn't. There was no point in lying to her, she would have always found out, and the last thing in the world that I wanted after the way things had developed between us recently, was for her to think that I didn't trust her.

I trusted her.

I loved her.

And if admit that I was in pain would have been bad for that strong part of myself that I was so proud of, and weakened me... Then so be it.

I would have done anything not to see that look on Piper's beautiful face.

I sighed, tilting my head down as I started to play nervously with my hands under the blankets, until I finally gave in.

"A little..." I confessed at last, mumbling my answer with such a small, almost timid voice that I couldn't almost believe it was really mine.

A long moment of silence passed and then, just when I starting to become worried, I felt the warm, comforting, reassuring touch of her hand on my face.

She stroked affectionately my cheekbone with her thumb, and the simple, sweet gesture was enough to catch my attention and give me the strenght that I needed to finally to look up at her and meet her gaze.

A soft smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and her eyes started to shine once again with the same compelling light that I adored so much.

"That's better..." She whispered, and at that point, I felt like I needed to explain to her the reason because I lied.

"I'm sorry Piper," That was a good way to start. My apologies were sincere, and for how hard it was for me to do it, I started to lower one of the most solid barriers that I had built around me. I wanted her to know. "It's just..." I pulled myself up a little with a small grimace to rest on pillows against the headboard, taking her hand in mine as she looked at me, giving me the time I needed before I could elaborate. Grateful that she didn't interrupt me or tried to ask me something when I took a few moments longer to think.

"I'm not used to... _this_." I admitted, gesturing between us and looking briefly down at our joined hands before my gaze returned up and noticed how her expression softened even more as I continued. "I'm not used to... have someone who worries about me." Beside Nicky, I left out, but she understood what I meant; Nicky was my friend, my only true friend, she was pratically my annoying little sister who acted like I was the youngest of the two.

But what Piper and I had was way different.

"And I'm not good with showing to someone how I feel without feeling too..." Exposed. Fragile. Weak.

I could have completed that sentence in a dozen of different ways. Instead I left it there, letting my voice trail off as I tilted my head down, and if it wasn't for the soft, delicate hand that gave a gentle tug under my chin to make me look up, I would have remained like that for several more minutes, lost into own my thoughts.

The smile that I saw on Piper's face as soon as I raised my gaze was so strangely soothing, and what she said next helped to clear away the rest of the unpleasant thoughts that had formed in my head.

"You don't have to explain anything Alex..." She reassured me, softly brushing aside a strand of hair from my face. "I understand."

And she did.

She really did understand me.

Even before I could bare my soul to her, she had already seen every part of me from the small little things that I had done with her or for her, and that to anyone else would have appeared irrelevant and meaningless.

A small smile started to spread across my face as I kept listening to her.

"And I know that since you are unused to this it may be a little strage at first. But... If you are not sincere on telling me how you feel, especially when you are hurt, I can't be a good girlfriend and take care of you like you deserve sweetie."

As soon as I heard that word, I froze.

My eyes widened. My heart skipped a beat and then fluttered wildly in my chest as the smile on my lips turned slowly into a smirk so wide that my cheeks started to actually hurt.

"Girlfriend?" I asked tilting my head slightly to the side and arching an eyebrow. Suddenly the pain in my leg was the furthest thing from my mind.

I watched with great amusement as realization of what she said sunk into her, noticed the way her eyes widened almost comically as she looked at me, and I could have sworn that I noticed every single shade of pink that started coloring her face and that inflamed her cheeks with a furious deep red blush in just a couple of seconds.

She opened her mouth several times, resembling a fish as she tried to find the words she needed.

"I-I m-mean... W-well... It's j-just that..." She stammered, and even if a part of me wanted to reassure her, the other part found the sight too adorable and amusing to stop her right away.

"I-It's n-not like I-I w-wanted to presume anything bu-but -"

This time, even if her speech was starting to make sense, I just couldn't resist, and so I interrupted her before she could say anything else, stopping that rambling in the only way I could.

With a kiss.

She tensed for a second because of the sudden movement and surprise when I cupped her cheeks and pulled her gently towards me, but then, as soon as I started to move my lips, she melted immediately into the kiss, responding eagerly and putting just as much tenderness.

When I pulled back she was breathless and her eyes were filled with an heartwarming combination of adoration and confusion.

"Presume away kid," I reassured her, gently stroking her cheek. "I like the way that sounds."

As soon as she registered my words, the most beautiful, bright, wide smile I had ever seen, appeared on her face, making her glow against the light of the morning sun.

"Y-you do?" She asked as if she was looking for a final comfirmation, one that I didn't wait to give to her with a smile of my own as a small chuckle left my lips.

"Yes." And then in a more serious tone "...very much actually."

We had already confessed the love we felt for the other, yet, hear that word had a certain, very pleasant effect on us both apparently, and I knew that it was because of the promise of commitment that was implied in it.

It would have been lying if I said that it didn't scare me a little... But the idea it actually excited me more.

She smiled even brighter at me and then leaned in to seal our words with a kiss.

It was gentle, soft, incredibly sweet.

It was perfect.

I couldn't even remember when it had been the last time that I felt so serene, happy, and felt that soothing warmth spreading slowly inside me, making every nerve of my body tingle pleasurably.

...But for how peaceful and beautiful that moment was, I couldn't seem to push aside, for how much I tried, that sensation, that _something_ that kept bugging me.

I didn't know what it was, and I wasn't certainly trying to focus my attentions on it. But I could feel it's presence. Like a cold dark shadow that was obscuring part of my mind.

And then, I realized what it was. Right when Piper pulled back from the kiss and took my other hand in hers and started to run her thumb gently across my knuckles.

My bruised knuckles.

I felt my heart jump right into my throat as an icy shiver ran down my spine, and I had to blink a few times before I could focus on the young woman in front of me and realize that she was looking down at my hand, examining the few cuts and the colored bruises resting there.

Images, sounds from how I got that minor injury on my hand reappeared in my mind when I blinked, remembering the scene as if I was the protagonist, but when those pictures flashed before my closed eyes, it was like I saw them for the very first time.

My memories were confused. The images fragmented.

And then everything got lost in a thick dark fog.

...I knew that sensation.

It may had seemed all foggy and confusing in my mind, but I could have never forgotten those sensations, the ones that started to slowly bring back to me all that had happened the previous night.

A familiar roar resonated from my chest. Rage boiled inside me, bile rose in my throat and I clenched my jaw so tightly and with so much anger that I was sure my teeth were going to shatter in my mouth.

And if it wasn't for the caring, warm, loving touch that I felt on my hand and that had the incredibly power to quieten the wild beast living inside me, I don't know if I would have been able to get out from that state on my own.

I took a calming deep breath and regained the control that I needed. For how strong those sensations were to fight, my priority now was Piper.

She was staring at my hand and touching it with such tentativeness, caressing the back with her thumb in such a tender way as if it was the paw of an injured tiger.

"You okay kid?" I kept my voice as soft as possible, not wanting to startle her.

I bent a little to meet her gaze, only to feel my heart clench painfully in my chest when I saw her clear blue eyes glistening with tears.

With all that had happened the previous night, she hadn't had the time to process _that_ event, and now, with my hand in that condition as a reminder, everything started to surface.

I remembered how frightened she looked when that... _animal_ had cornered her, I remembered the panic in her voice, the way she tried unsuccessfully to free herself. Even if I knew that if I wouldn't have been there, the security guards would have prevented anything from happen to Piper, I couldn't stop thinking _What if?_ And I was sure that my lover's thoughts in that moment, were the same.

After a few more moments, she raised her gaze to look at me with a small shaky smile, and then she nodded, bringing her hand up to stroke my cheek affectionately. "Yes... Thank you."

And I knew what she meant when she thanked me, but before I could protest and say that _that_ was the last thing she needed to say to me that for saving her, she leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips.

I could perfectly feel in that kiss that she was still a little frightened for what had happened to her, but that she didn't have any intention to let the fear that she had felt during those moments to rule over her.

I had realized way before that Piper shyness and look of innocence had nothing to do with the strenght and courage that she carried inside of her.

She was brave, and much more stronger than what I thought. Maybe even more than myself.

If it was possible, in that moment I loved her even more.

When she pulled back from the kiss her eyes were starting to regain the brightness I knew so well and that adored so much, she looked more calm and the smile that she gave me was full and sincere.

It soothed me to see her recover a little at the time. However, there was still a weight on my shoulders, something that I felt the need to tell her and explain to her... And it was about the part that I kept locked inside of me and that she had seen for herself the previous night.

But now it wasn't the moment...

Now all that mattered to me was Piper, and all I wanted was for her to feel safe, protected, and see her happy... And I had every intention to keep her like that.

"So," I asked with a small smirk, deciding to change immediately the topic and focus on the present. "Do you have plans for the day Miss?"

She chuckled and then shifted to stay closer to me under the blankets. "Well, first of all I have every intention to take care of the pain in your leg-"

I opened my mouth to protest and say that there was no need, but she didn't let me talk, holding up her hand to stop me.

"And then, only if you accept the first condition," She continued, leaning in and kissing me on my jaw before she whispered seductively in my ear "I was thinking to spend the morning in bed with you... After all I think we still have a deal going on from before, isn't that right?"

I knew of which was the _deal_ she was talking about. The one that we had _established_ after I woke her up in that _very_ particular way, and listening as she reminded me of that promise, sent a shiver down my spine and made my core clench with need when she sucked my earlobe into her mouth before pulling back.

My eyes fluttered shut and a groan fell from my lips.

I hadn't taken painkillers ever since I left the hospital, and only the idea of taking them made me just as reluctant as a little kid that refused to take the bitter medicine, but... As I opened my eyes and looked at Piper's sweet pleading look and smiling face...

I sighed.

And then my shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Okay..." I whispered at last, unable to suppress a laugh when she grinned satisfied at me and then leaned in to kiss me.

 _Ah, the things I wouldn't do for this sweet girl..._


	28. Chapter 28

Hi everyone!

Are you enjoying your holidays guys? :) I'm sorry to keep you waiting, believe me, I *hate* to keep you waiting, but as you can imagine this days have been kind of crazy. I barely found the time to do my things, but I haven't forgotten about you, and now I'm here with a new chapter ready... Thank you for being patient guys :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

Enjoy

* * *

"I like your apartment..."

Alex's comment was accompanied by one of her infamous smirks as she looked around my small living room from the couch where we were sitting, cuddling under a blanket and sipping the first cup of coffee in a rare, lazy, peaceful, blissful morning.

It would have been very nice spend the morning outside, take advantage of the bright warm rays of the sun with a walk in the park, but with Alex's leg still injured and after all that had happened in the last few days, I was more than happy with the idea to stay in and spend the day in a quiet way, cuddled in the arms of the woman I loved; in those moments nothing else mattered to me beside Alex's comfort and safety, and even if it hadn't been so easy to convince her to take something for the pain, I managed to... _persuade_ her, and now she looked better with every passing minute, her cheeks had regained their natural light color and the small traces that indicated pain were no longer visible on her gorgeous face.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her words, even if I knew that she was being nothing but sincere.

"Wanna switch it with your castel?" I offered arching an amused eyebrow at her, something that made the raven haired woman laugh even harder.

"My _castel_ , as you call it, will be a tool shed compared to what you'll have in a few years when you'll become one of the most respected professors of some super exclusive private college and most famous art critic of the country kid."

Hearing how highly she thought about me and my knowledge about art history warmed me from the inside; she had always showed nothing but authentic interest for what I did, and when a few minutes previous I told her about the job at the museum, she wasn't even surprised, as if she knew that I would have got the job without any trouble, but she looked, and sounded, so very proud and incredibly happy when I gave her the news.

I wasn't used to receive compliments, except from the ones offered by the professors, and knowing that Alex was so honestly happy for me, made me feel this strange very pleasant sensation that started spreading into my chest with a tingling, and that warmed my cheeks with a deep shy blush, something that didn't fail in capturing Alex's attention, who grinned like a Cheshire cat as I tried to hide my flushed face in the crook of her neck like an embarassed little kid would have done.

She chuckled and brought me even closer, placing a kiss on my temple as I melted in her embrace and snuggled closer to her under the blanket, absently playing with the hem of the sweatshirt that I had given to her to keep her warm.

"I mean it though," She continued after she took a new sip of coffee from the steamy cup. "I really like it here. Your apartment is cozy... It kind of reminds me of the place where I lived when I was at the academy in Quantico."

It was the first time that Alex brought up something that had to do with her previous job, and hearing her saying that made me want to know more about the life she had before she decided to... _change career_ , hoping that if I would have asked a few questions she would have been okay with sharing some of those memories with me; for how many layers she had taken off her to allow me to see what was lying underneath, I knew, that for some still unknown reason Alex's past was a very delicate subject for her.

I didn't want to ask the wrong question and risk to make her close like a shell again, but I couldn't give up this chance after the chink that she left open in her armor. I wanted so much to learn something more about the woman I loved, that I couldn't just ignore the feeling.

"Have you always wanted to be in the forces?" I decided to ask at last pulling away from her neck to look up at her and watching as a small melancholy smile tugged at her lips.

"Yes, ever since I was a little kid."

The image of a little Alex was enough to make me smile broadly. _She was probably a troublemaker_ , I thought, picturing that same mischievous smirk on the face of a smaller version of the woman sitting beside me. _Yes... An adorable, cute troublemaker._

I shifted a little more in my seat to give her all my attention, remaining so incredibly pleased when she decided to go on, noticing how the small smile on her lips became slowly full as she continued.

"I wanted to put bad guys in jail just like my mom did, but I wasn't as good with words to become a prosecutor like her... Not to say that defense attorneys always got to my nerves. So after college I decided to try with the FBI Academy, and when I passed the tests, they recruited me right away."

It was no surprise to me that the most important of all the federal law enforcement agencies had decided to take Alex in their team; it was impossible not to notice how smart she was, and I suspected that her skills were quite impressive as well; anyone would have been extremely lucky to have her work with them.

But the thing that got my attention was another one.

It was the first time that Alex mentioned someone of her family; we had never touched the subject, for me because it was still a very delicate matter to face, for her however... I didn't know. It was another one of the mysteries that gravitated around Alex.

But now that she had mentioned her mother I couldn't help but wonder and wanting to know more about her; about the woman whom had raised Alex, turned her into this beautiful, brave woman and inspired her to join the forces.

"So your mom is a prosecutor?" I asked with a gentle voice and a small smile on my lips, hoping that it would have encouraged her to continue. That was a safe territory where to start, I thought, after all I was just asking for a confirmation about something that she had already revealed.

But I was wrong.

 _...If only I knew._

As soon as the words left my lips, I felt Alex stiffen beside me.

The air around us became suddenly thick and heavy, taking away the lightness and playfulness of the quiet, serene moment that we were both enjoying.

I watched how her smile, her bright joyful smile that had been on her lips not even ten seconds before, was immediately wiped off, leaving no reminder of its presence on Alex's beautiful face, as if it had never existed.

Her eyes, her stunning green gems that I had just seen sparkling with happiness while she recollected a few pleasant memories, had now lost all their significant brighteness, replacing it with the deepest, darker shadow of pain.

In those few moments as I witnessed that drastic change, it seemed like time had slowed down, but the forceful, fast, anguished beats of my heart in my chest proved me wrong; time was flowing normally, it was Alex's silence and look of pure sorrow that made every second agonizingly slow as I watched my lover tilt her head down to look blankly at the coffee cup resting in her hands, shielding her face from me with a curtain of black hair before whispering weakly

"She... _was_ a Federal Attorney..."

The pain in her words.

The light crack in her voice...

For how much I didn't want to believe it, for how hard I tried to push away that thought, I knew that there was no other interpretation for all that pain, and the _was_ that she used was the confirmation that resonated around like the echo that filled the last of my doubts.

But there was more. I could feel it, and I could perfectly see it when a moment later I found myself whispering my lover's name, softly, tentatively, in an attempt to get her attention, only to wish that I didn't when, after a few more seconds, she turned and I was met with a look that I would have never even imagined could darken Alex's beautiful features with so much sorrow to make her unrecognisable.

Her eyes were filled with grief, glistening with thick, bitter tears.

Seeing her like that was like receiving an uppercut right to the stomach.

It was devastating.

But compared to what I still didn't know was going to come, it was nothing...

"Remember when I said that the Feds threw both Nicky and I out of the Bureau because of a case?" She asked trying to keep her voice steady while, with trembling hands, she leaned forward to place the half empty cup on the coffee table in front of her.

My stomach clenched painfully and my heart started beating so fast and with so much anguish that I was sure it would have exploded in my chest. I hoped that I had heard wrong, that she wasn't going to tell me what had already crossed in my mind, but when I nodded at her question, the answer that I dreaded the most, was exactly the one that left her lips in a murmur.

"It was my mother's case..."

And then, after she released a shaky breath, the final blow. "Her murder's case."

My blood turned instantly to ice and my heart shattered in a million of sharp pieces inside my chest when I heard those words and saw the first tear roll silently down her cheek.

"Oh Alex..." Her name simply fell from my lips in a quiet whisper. I didn't think twice about it, and just leaned in to take her in my arms, my hands cradling her head, gently stroking her soft black hair in a compassionate attempt to soothe her and bring her a comfort that I knew I couldn't give her, but happy that she didn't pull back from my embrace as a part of me was afraid she would have done.

I heard her sniff softly in the crook of my neck and felt her hot, salty tears wet my skin.

In that moment, I wished more than anything else in the world that I could have been able to take all that pain away from her.

I had no words to offer to her, nothing that would have been enough to comfort her, so I just kept holding her, stroking her hair and kissing her temple. She didn't cry but it wasn't necessary hear her sobbing like a child to feel her agony as she shook in my arms, or to see the grief darkening her face when she pulled back from my embrace a few minutes later.

For how unbearably painful it was to keep my eyes on her, I couldn't divert my gaze, and when she raised her head to look tentatively at me as I took her hand into mine, the question just slipped from my lips with a silent whisper.

"How...?"

If it was possible, in that moment her face scrunched up with even more affliction and distress, but there was something else that was showing this time.

Something that I recognized immediately after she shook her head as if she wanted to shake away those thoughts and feelings.

"It was all my fault."

 _Guilt._

She took her time, but she told me everything, starting from the beginning. She told me about the case she was working on at the time with Nicky and a few other agents, and to the help she had asked to her mother who took the case and prosecuted the leader criminal of a human trafficking organization.

She was murdered for revenge by one of the many associates who were still free.

Shot outside the New York Courthouse right after winning the case.

Another good woman, a protector of the justs, dead because of doing what was right.

It was horrifying listening to Alex as she told me how things went, but see the tormented look in her eyes, was even worst.

My lover had lost her job at the FBI after deciding to find personally the assassin that gave the order for the murder and the rest of the criminal companions, bending all the rules and breaking all the laws in the process when she was told by her superiors not to get near the case if she wanted justice to be done.

But she didn't want Justice.

She wanted Revenge.

And honestly, I couldn't blame her.

Suddenly, Alex's behavior, the thick armor that she had built around her, wearing it as a second skin, and the choices she had made about her government assassin's job, were now more than comprehensible to me.

 _Justifiable._

With evey piece of the story that she revealed, with every detail she added, it was like a fragment that made light on the shadows that I had always noticed surrounding her, and when I saw the complexity of the image that those fragments created and made of Alex, it didn't change the vision that I had about her.

The scars that she had kept hidden from me were now visible in all their ugliness...

But she was still her.

She was still the woman I loved more than anything else... And now maybe even more. Because I understood her better.

Because she let me see and feel her pain.

...Because she had trusted me enough to tell me the most tragic event that had changed her life forever.

It takes great courage to trust.

And in that moment, at my eyes, with the wet lines of the tears glistening on her face as she told me everything that happened, for how heartbreaking it was to see her like that, she had never looked stronger or braver to me.

How she managed to keep her voice steady as she told me all of that was beyond me, but when she finished, she had no tears left. The Alex I knew would have tried anything to hold them back and wipe away the traces, pretending that it was nothing as she locked herself into her impenetrable armor. But this Alex... This vulnerable, shattered woman was opening up to me and offering that part of humanity that I knew she had great difficulty to accept and deal with, and now I understood why. After such traumatic event, I would have expected nothing less.

"It was all my fault..." She repeated another time at the end, tilting her head down.

Broken.

Defeated.

Her long black hair shielding her face. Falling like the curtain of a theatre at the closing scene.

But this was all real.

A tragedy written by life, with a younger Alex as protagonist.

So many years had passed, yet it seemed that the pain had kept following her, kept growing inside her until it became a part of her that she couldn't let go.

But only because she thought so about all that had happened, it didn't mean that she was right; after listening to the whole story, for how heartbreaking and agonizing it had been, I was sure of it.

And I had every intention to prove her that she was wrong.

"No." I said softly yet with conviction as I placed my own cup on the small coffee table in front of the couch before I shifted in my seat to stay closer to her.

She raised her head when she felt me come near, looking at me with a deep frown of confusion as if she had heard wrong. Her lips already parting to protest, but I didn't let her.

"You were doing your job Alex," I said, moving aside a lock of silky black hair from her face before taking her hand in mine. "You asked for your mother's professional opinion and she took the case because she wanted to help you, because it was her job and because, like you, she believed in what she did..."

But she shook her head at me. Denial was still very alive and strong in her. "No. No she died because of _me_. I should have never let her take that damn case."

When she tried to pull back and turn her head, I stopped her.

I placed my hand on her cheek, she tensed up for a second, but just a moment later she relaxed as I started to stroke her cheekbone with my thumb, slowly, tentatively.

Maybe there was a way to help her. Deep down there was a small part of Alex that was tired of keep fighting against herself after all those years. And if I had to dig deep to find it, I would have done it.

"It's wasn't your fault Alex... What happened to your mom is... Terrible," I said for lack of a better word as I shook my head in an attempt to push away the frightful images that were still vivid in my mind after Alex's story. "But you are not responsible for it, and I know that deep down you know that too..." At this she diverted her gaze, giving me the silent confirmation that I was right.

She took the blame because she couldn't blame anyone else at the time, not even the ones whom had killed her mother, not completely at least. Her sense of guilt was so strong that she pictured herself pointing the gun and pulling the trigger against her mother in the moment that she handed her that case.

But all of this needed to stop.

I shifted to stay just a little closer to her and cupped her other cheek in my hand, gently directing her gaze to me once again and feeling as my heart broke in another million of pieces in my chest when I saw the new tears glistening in those deep green pools that I loved so much.

"I'm not going to tell you that I know what it is like, because I don't," I started, in the softest way I could. "However I can imagine why you still feel guilty about it. But keep taking the blame for what happened when you have no fault is never going to give you peace Alex..." I was pratically pleading her at the end, feeling my own tears rising in my throat, but I remained strong; Alex had to hear the conviction in my words, and needed to feel it just as much.

She remained silent for a few more seconds and then, just when I was starting to think that I couldn't have a change in front of years of self blame, she raised her head and locked eyes with me.

"It still hurts... I just want it to stop. When will it stop hurting?"

The look of distress, the vulnerability in her voice and the pain in her eyes...

I had to swallow hard, twice, to get rid of the lump that had formed in my throat as soon as I heard her asking me that question. A question that I knew only half of the answer, but that I knew it was a truth that would have brought some peace to her spirit.

"When you'll accept it." I simply said with a small, sad, yet hopeful smile. "And when you'll accept that it wasn't your fault Alex."

If I had to repeat the same thing to her every day hoping that some day she would have believed me, and most of all she would have finally understood it, I would have done it willingly. But when I saw the faintest hint of brightness starting to return in her eyes just a moment before she leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips, I knew that there was not need.

My heart mended and fluttered as I kissed her back with as much tenderness as I could.

She had been struggling with that guilt for years, and the torment that she carried with her was so deep that had left scars on her soul.

It would have taken some more time, but I knew that she was on the right way to start to recover from that tragic event, and I wanted her to know that I would have been there for every step of the way if she wanted me to.

When I pulled back I leaned my forehead against hers and whispered the words against her lips. "I love you Alex. You don't have to be alone to go through this. I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

It was a promise. And a reminder for the days to come.

I woudn't have abandoned her.

Not another time.

Not _ever_.

 **. . .**

I thought that the pain that I kept feeling after my mother's murder was what gave me the strenght to keep going and doing my job as assassin.

But I was wrong.

It was my guilt. And even if killing all those dangerous criminals during the years had been deeply satisfying, it had never filled that void that I felt inside me. It had never offered any kinf of solace or eased my pain.

More death wasn't the answer.

Only love and acceptance would have set me free. And Piper had just explained me that.

Her words brought even more tears to my eyes, but these ones were of happiness and gratefulness, and when I pulled back a little from her embrace a small smile returned on my lips as I looked at her and saw the depth of the love she felt for me shine into her clear blue pools.

"I love you too Piper."

She beamed at me, taking the rest of my pain away with that radiant smile.

It was still a little strange for me to say those words out loud, but they were sincere, because I felt them, and more important, I felt the sentiment beating in my heart for this young woman whom had taken care of my wounds; first of the ones on my body, and now of those that had scarred my soul and that I had allowed to only another person to see so closely.

During the years Nicky had never stopped to repeat me how everything that happened wasn't my fault, and even if I had listened to my friend, I never truly believe it. I never felt the meaning sink into me, her words had never touched me so deeply like Piper's had done.

Maybe it was the right time... Or maybe it was the right person.

Maybe just I needed someone else to say that to me; someone whom had found her way into my heart with a shy, tender smile and a pure, kind spirit, managing to lower the thick solid barriers that I had built around me as protection without me even realizing it.

All I knew was that in that moment I felt a part of me that I was sure I had lost forever, remerge and dare to take a breath for the first time after six long agonizing years.

I knew that I would have never completely recovered from that event, but Piper had showed me the spark that I needed to see, bright like a beacon in the distance, a guide that maybe, hopefully, one day would have lead me out from those cold shadows of the past.

"Thank you." I whispered at last, softly, against the corner of her mouth.

But she shook her head at my words. "You don't need to thank me..." She said pulling me once again into a tight comforting embrace and starting to run her fingers through my hair as I rested my head on the crook of her neck, smelling her intoxicating scent and feeling as more tears welled up in my eyes when she told me, speaking softly next to my ear "I meant it what I said before Alex. I'm here for you. For the good things, to share them with you whenever you want me, but also for the bad ones. You don't have to face all of this alone. Let me take care of you..."

She repeated those same words of the night before. I knew what she meant with them and part of me had already let her in, accepting her help in more ways that I didn't know I would have ever let anyone see me.

But Piper wasn't just _anyone_.

She had been different to me from the start. From the moment when I saw her enter into my bedroom that very first time I met her. Something drew me to her as soon as she stepped in, and something stirred immediately inside me in the moment I looked into her clear blue eyes for the first time.

As I pulled back from her arms and looked tentatively up at her and at the tender, sweet smile on her lips that held nothing but adoration, I couldn't ignore how calm and safe she made me feel.

"It's not going to be easy Piper but..." I shifted my gaze downward, looking at our joined hands when I felt her caressing my knuckles with her thumb and feeling as a smile tugged at my lips in front of that incredibly simple, yet meaningful gesture and sight, and when my eyes returned to her, the words that I meant to tell her, but that had been stuck in my throat, finally fell from my lips directly from my heart. "...but for you, I'll try."

For her I would have done anything.

Even the harderst thing ever, one that I would have never, ever considered to renounce in a million of years.

But for her I was willing to do it.

My heart was already exposed, my sentiments revealed. But for her, I would have given up a piece of the strongest part of me.

My control.

She had already seen me at my worst, broken, wounded, shattered inside and out, and when she ran away it wasn't because she had been terrified by the ugliness and corruption that she had seen and that I carried inside of me. I never meant for her to see me like that. I never meant for her to see the part of me that at its worst had scared even myself in the past. But she had not only seen it. She had not only witnessed it, but for the first time since that _presence_ had become a part of me, someone else had managed to calm it down and pull me out from a blinding rage that I thought would have swallowed the remaining human in me if it wasn't for her.

No... Piper was like no others for me.

Another bright smile appeared on her beautiful face at my words, and then I leaned in, cupping her cheek in my hand to seal my promise with a kiss.

"After all," I said with a small smirk when I pulled back, looking down at my leg that was resting on the coffee table and then holding up my other hand, the one that she had remedicated and -unnecessarily- wrapped up in a bandage with immense care and tenderness "You have already taken good care of me."

But in my attempt to see that beautiful smile grow even more, the reminder of what had happened to me when I was away for the mission, had darkened her features with the same shadow of concern that I had noticed in the hospital almost a week previous as she diverted her gaze and looked at my injured leg.

"Piper?" I called her name softly, bending a little to find her gaze, but when our eyes met, the small, shaky smile that she gave me back was forced and the brightness that I adore so much and that I always found there to greet me whenever I looked at her, grew dim in her clear pools.

That look had me immediately worried.

"What is it kid?" I asked shifting in my seat to stay closer to her.

She looked down at my leg for a moment longer and then shook her head.

"It's nothing... Sorry. Just a silly thing..." She shrugged off the matter after swallowing hard what I suspected was a lump that had formed in her throat and that made her voice sound particularly low and raspy.

Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a _silly thing_ as she said. If it was so serious to bother her like this, it was anything but ignorable.

"Piper..." I cupped her cheek in my hand, gently lifting her chin to meet my gaze when she tilted her head down, and this time, it wasn't lost on me the new tears that were already forming in her eyes. "Please..." I encouraged her, and luckily, the look I gave her was enough and I didn't have to insist more.

She leaned against my touch, placing her hand above mine before taking in a small steady breath through her parted lips.

"It's just..." She paused, her gaze lingering on my injured leg once more as she considered her words, but I already suspected what all that was about. Part of me expected it. And was ready to reassure her in every way I could, but first I let her finish.

"I keep thing that when you'll recover completely, I know you'll probably return to... _work_ and I..." Another shaky breath. "I don't want to-" She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated with herself.

In any other moment, with any other topic I would have been probably amused to see the always eloquent and well educated young woman in front of me stumbling on her own words, but in that moment, that sight worried me more than anything else. "What I'm trying to say is that..." A pause, and then she sighed, raising her head to look at me. "I know what your duties are and... You'll always be in my thoughts when you are away Alex."

I knew what she meant with that. It was her way to say "I'll worry day and night about you, but I understand what you must do."

My heart ached, swelling with a strange combination of both pain and love, my eyes pricked with tears but under all of that, a smile found its way across my lips, and of course, it was a reaction that confused Piper.

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when I saw the tiny crease that formed between her eyebrows when she saw me smile after what she had just said, but I didn't wait a second longer to explain and reassure her.

If I had any doubt left about my latest choice, after listening to my lover's concerns I knew I had taken the right decision.

"You are right," I started with a nod. "I'll have to return to work when I'll be completely healed..."

Resignation flashed across her face along with an immense look of sadness that she tried to hide from me by tilting her head down, diverting her gaze from mine; return to work was inevitable, she already knew that, but it didn't mean that her look of distress didn't affect me deeply, and before she could start to picture some other unpleasant scenario, like the one that got me injured so gravely, I continued, taking her hand in mine and tracing affectionately her long, delicate, elegant fingers with my thumb. The gesture caught immediately her attention, but what I said next earned me even more.

"But I won't return to do _that_ job anymore."

As soon as I finished, her head snapped up, her look bewildered, incredulous, but there was something else lying in her wide eyes.

Something that made me smile even more.

Hope.

"Y-you mean?" She asked, still not completely allowing to that emotion to take over before she had a real confirmation. One that I didn't wait to give her.

"I've decided to return to work with the Feds, Piper." I announced. "I have quit with _that_ job and with that life."

By the look that she was giving me, I could see that she was having a hard time trying to believe what I was telling her, but the light of hope that was becoming brighter in her eyes with every passing second, told me exactly how she felt about my decision.

A few more moments passed, and I waited patiently until she found her voice and asked me

"I-It's this because of...?" But even she didn't know how to complete that question. Her voice trailed off, leaving open all the possibilities for how to finish it in my head.

 _Because of what had happened to me? Because I had seriously risked my life? ...Because of us?_

I smiled softly at her as I took her hand in mine, deliberately using my bruised one; the one that I had used to protect her, and the one she had medicated with such care.

Her gaze lingered on our joined hands for a moment longer, and when she looked up at me once again, I simply replied

"For both."

New thick tears formed instantly in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back as I explained further.

"I've come too close this time to... _not come back_ , Piper." She knew what I meant, she had seen me in that hospital bed, she knew how extensive and severe my injury was and that my conditions weren't so good, but hearing those simple words from me, had still a very hard impact on her, even if I didn't use _that_ word.

She stiffened and diverted her gaze, blinking away the tears that kept gathering in her clear blue eyes as she let out a silent, shaky breath through her nose.

"And I've come too close to lose you." This time, a small suffocated sob left her lips despite her best efforts to suppress it.

Speak through the lump that had formed in my throat was incredibly uncomfortable, my voice came out so raspy and deep that I barely recognized it as my own, but I didn't stop. I needed to say this and she needed to hear it.

"I won't lie to you and say that the job with the Feds will never be a little risky at times, but I can tell you that is safer, and even if I can't promise that I won't get into some dangerous situations..." I waited until her tentative eyes found mine and then moved aside a lock of golden hair to better see her face, feeling how she started to relax at the softness of my touch as I looked at her and tried to bring to her as much reassurance as I could as I said the next words. "I can promise you Piper, that I'll be always careful... And that I'll always come back to you."

My words brought her some visible comfort, but the strong, sincere promise behind them that she read in my eyes, was what made her lean in and claim my lips in a gentle, yet passionate kiss as soon as I finished.

I kissed her back with everything I had and more, pulling her closer to me, and feeling how she melted in my embrace, her fears still presents, but slowly fading away, dissipating as she allowed me to replace them with the love I felt for her.

For so long I had performed a duty with a purpose, most of the times without even being concerned of what would have been of me if I wouldn't have suceeded. Now instead, even if my cause remained strong, I had something... No... _Someone_ , that I didn't have before.

And she was my reason.

The one that would have given me the strenght to keep going and make me come back to her every time should something have happened to me.

At the end of the day, I would have always seen my lover's face.

That promise was for her as much as it was for me.

When she pulled back we were both breathless but she managed to whisper a single word against my lips. "Promise?" She asked looking at me with eyes filled with joy and shining with hope.

I smiled at her. Kissing her softly on the lips one more time before confirming. "I promise."

A wave of relief washed over her and when she talked, her voice was filled emotion. "I wasn't expecting this, Alex. I mean, I'm... beyond happy" And she really was. "But... I know how much your job meant to you and I would have never have asked you to..." Her voice trailed off as soon as she saw me shake my head with a smile tugging at my lips, leaving her sentence unfinished, but I knew what she was going to say. Of course she wouldn't have asked me to quit with my job as assassin; she would have worried and suffered in silence for me, but I couldn't permit that from happen. I loved her too much to be so selfish and continue with that life.

The decision I took, was really also for her... For _us_. And I told her that.

"You are much more important to me kid." I confessed at last, watching the first tear of joy roll down her cheek as she smiled brightly, no longer able to contain it after my words.

I wiped it away with the pad of my thumb and kissed her on the bridge of her nose, something that, if possible, earned me a wider smile and a small adorable giggle.

"So..." She asked after a few more moments when she had recovered from all those emotions, trying to hide unsuccessfully the warm blush that had started to spread over her cheeks. "You already know when you'll start and what you'll do?"

I pursed my lips as I thought about it for a second. "Next week both Nicky and I have an appointment with the chief at the Federal Plaza."

I had forgot to mention to her that my best friend would have returned to work with the FBI with me, but Piper seemed even more pleased by that fact, and I suspected that it was because she knew that Nicky would have kept an eye on me all the time. And she was right.

"They'll probably give her a task force into the computer crimes unit." I guessed with a chuckle, knowing how excited my friend would have been at that idea. "About me however I still don't know, probably investigation on field... Don't know which unit though."

She nodded looking in front of her, biting on her bottom lip as if she was considering something.

"A week uh?" She asked at last when her gaze returned to me, a small tentative smirk tugging at her lips, and for how mischievous and kind of suspicious it was to see it on her beautiful face, it didn't fail in bringing one on my own lips.

"Yes...?" I half confirmed half asked with a small laugh.

"You know, I'll start to work at the museum not before next week too..." She said calmly as she shifted to stay a little closer to me, her voice dropping deliberately of a few tones.

"Oh?" I asked feign nonchalance, but struggling to suppress the grin that was threatening to show on my face. "Well that's a very fortunate coincidence..."

She nodded, but it wasn't lost on me the new glint that had started to shine in her eyes. "You can certainly say that..."

Then she shifted and with a swift movement, yet being aware and extra careful to my injured leg, she straddled my waist, and at that point, my cool demeanour started to crumble as my hands found immediately their favourite place on her hips.

It was very interesting to see her act like this, even if it wasn't the first time it always both pleased and amused me the way she could change from the shy and innocent art student, into this flirtatious and teasing young woman.

And even if I was really enjoying how things had started to develop in the last minute and I read perfectly the meaning, and invitation, behind her words, I couldn't help but tease her a little longer.

"I can't possibly immagine what you are suggesting, kid... And I thought you had a thesis to work on, isn't that right?" I asked with an arched eyebrow, but unable to mask my amusement with a bigger smirk when I saw her blushing a little as I pulled her a bit closer so that our fronts were pressed together.

"I think I could take a few days to rest after all," She ammitted, her fingertips tracing the side of my face with such affection. "And I would like very much to spend them with you if... you are okay with that..." Oh, I was certainly more than simply _okay_ with that, in fact if she wasn't going to suggest it, I would have done it.

"I would love to..." I said at last, giving her an honest smile and watching as a bigger one spread across her face. After all that happened we could use some time to spend together before starting once again with work and studies.

Then an idea popped in my head and my eyes widened as I thought about something.

"Actually, would you like to go somewhere with me for the next few days?"

She tilted her head to the side in slight curiosity, eyebrows knitting together in a small frown, but the smile never left her lips. "Where?"

At that I smirked at her and then threw her a wink. "That's a surprise... But I can tell you that is quiet, and that even if it may be a little cold," I admitted as I thought about where I wanted to bring her. "I'm sure we can find a way to stay warm." I concluded lifting my eyebrows playfully.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement and she beamed at me. "If you put it this way, how could I ever refuse?"


	29. Chapter 29

Hey there!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Here's the new chapter for you guys, pure Vauseman :)

Enjoy

* * *

Alex was smiling at me, brightly, with a glint of amusement and a hint of curiosity shining in her emerald eyes as I looked around me with pure amazement.

"Wow... Alex this is..."

I simply had no words to describe it.

When she told me that she wanted to spend away with me in a mysterious location the few days that we had before returning to work and study, I had no idea of what I should have expected, I considered myself already beyond happy at the idea of just stay with her, didn't matter where.

We spent the entire day at my apartment that day until she had to return at home, but the following morning she came to pick me up with her car, she drove north for a few hours and when the mountains started showing in the distance with their white peaks, it became obvious where she was bringing me, yet, try to contain my amazement was near to impossible when, after an additional short drive right into the woods we ended up in front of a chalet by an immense lake, surrounded by those same magnificent mountains and with just a few other cabins standing nearby.

"Do you like it?"

We were inside now, and I was still taking in the beauty of the large living room, all wood and stone with a massive glass window that offered a spectacular view of the lake and the woods all around when I heard Alex asking me that question.

The small throaty chuckle caught even more my attention, and when I finally turned to look at her as she leaned against the door frame of the living room, I wasn't even a bit surprised to see the smirk that I had already pictured in my mind greet me on those full, rosy lips.

" _Like it_?" I repeated incredulous with wide eyes and a smile so large that was starting to hurt my cheeks. "Alex this place is amazing!"

This time she laughed out loud in front of my evident enthusiasm as my eyes kept landing on every surface, admiring the simple, yet tasteful interior design of the lodge.

The smell of the wood was so welcoming as it was the lighter one of the leather of the couch and chairs that were resting around a small table just a few feet distant in front of the stone fireplace. A rustic staircase on the opposite corner of the room lead to an upper floor where I suspected were located the bedrooms, while on the other side, right down the hallway, I could spot the kitchen.

I turned once again to look at my smiling lover, noticing the sparkle of happiness in her eyes that from behind her black rimmed glasses seemed even more bright and vivid.

It was perfect.

"I take it that it was a good idea to bring you here then." She said through a soft chuckle when she saw that the smile on my lips, if possible, had grown even bigger.

I took a couple of steps towards her, enough to close the distance between us. "You could have brought me in the middle of nowhere with just a tent as a place to sleep in and I would have been just as happy Alex." I confessed sincerely, noticing the way she lifted her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side as an amused smirk tugged immediately at her lips.

"Well, that is something I'm pretty sure we could arrange with no problem for a future time if you want kid." She half whispered half purred as she pulled me a little closer to her by tugging gently at the belt of my coat.

I couldn't contain a small giggle at her suggestion, feeling as her other hand came up to rest on my waist just when she leaned in to place a soft kiss on my cheekbone.

"As long as I'm with you Alex and you are safe, it doesn't matter where we are..."

At that she tilted her head down, fiddling nervously with her glasses as she tried, unsuccessfully, to cover from me the soft blush that had appeared on her face and was pretty visible on her perfect alabaster skin.

It was so amusing to see an embarassed, blushing Alex, and I couldn't help but take a few more moments to enjoy that sight; a grin already splitting my face before I decided to take pity on my lover, knowing that she wasn't used to feel such sensation and that it starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Although," I began, changing my tone into a more playful one as I turned a little to look at the surrounding before looking back and meeting the curious gaze of my lover. "I have to say that _this_ is certainly a fantastic place where to spend some time together. Much better than the tent."

She simply smiled at me. "I'm glad you like it, I wanted to bring you to mine, to the one I have in Colorado but-" There was no need for her to explain or justify anything; the reasons because she had decided not to go all the way to Colorado were quite obvious, so I just silenced her with a kiss, feeling as she melted into it after the first moment of surprise that had made her stiffen a little.

"It's perfect Alex." I whispered rassicuringly against her lips when I pulled back. Then something that she had said sunk into me. "So this isn't yours?" I asked unable to mask the small hint of surprise in my voice.

It didn't matter to me to whom the lodge belonged to, of course, but I had automatically assumed it was Alex's.

Another small smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head. "Nope, this is Nicky's."

As soon as Alex mentioned her best friend, I couldn't help but feel as the sense of nervousness that had been whispering from the back of my mind, settled on my stomach like a brick, a reminder that there was still something very important that I needed to fix with the person who had been at Alex's side for all those years and taken care of her like a sister.

I could still remember the icy, murderous look that she gave me two nights previous after what happened at the party when she saw me leading an unresponsive Alex out of that room after the... _accident_... But I also still remembered the nod of consent that she gave me, even if a bit reluctantly, after I begged her with my eyes to let me take Alex with me out of that place.

"Piper?"

It was Alex's delicate touch on my cheek, more than the gentle whisper of my name falling so quietly from her lips, that eventually pulled me out from those thoughts.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision before I focused on the slightly concerned look on my lover's face.

"You okay kid?" She asked, stroking my cheekbone with her thumb, noticing how the little crease of concern between her eyebrows deepened when I waited a moment longer before answering.

"Yes, sorry... I was just thinking." I gave her a small smile to reassure her, but I could perfectly see that she wasn't completely convinced by it, especially when a moment later I started biting nervously on the inside of my cheek.

"Does she know that you have brought me here?"

The words left my lips in a rush before I could even consider the question, and the way Alex reacted to it, with her throaty deep, amused chuckle, was definitely something that I wasn't expecting, even if I had to admit, that in that moment, it had a strangely comforting, soothing effect on me, a sensation that became even stronger when she answered to me properly.

"Of course she does Piper, actually... She was the one who _suggested_ this place."

That certainly got my attention. "S-she did?" I asked, my eyes widening slightly, unable to mask my surprise when I heard that.

Another chuckle caressed my ears as she nodded.

"Yes," She confirmed. "Although I shall warn you, it is possible that she will come here and join us just for a day or two..." Then she paused, briefly, to look at me closely with a sudden hint of insecurity in her eyes before she continued. "She will start to work soon too and... I just hope you don't mind kid..."

Strangely enough, just when I thought that my heart couldn't stand at that last information, a great deal of the anxiety that I was feeling, was immediately pushed aside when I saw that look on Alex's face and noticed the small tentative smile that started tugging at her lips.

And so I found myself smiling at her, shaking my head in negative. "I don't mind at all Alex..." I replied honestly, sincerely. "Nicky is your closest friend, your _family_ , and I was hoping to spend some time with her as well... It's a good idea to spend sometime together before returning to real life." It was all true. Even if the last encounter with the petite woman didn't turn out to be one of the bests, I felt like I still owned her an explanation. When Alex was hurt she had abandoned her side so she could have find me and bring me where my lover was recovered, only for me to abandon her because of the overwhelming shock that Alex's confession had caused in me.

I knew that I had no excuses for how I reacted that day, and I knew that Nicky was probably livid, beyond pissed at me for leaving behind an injured, broken Alex... For leaving behind the woman I loved right in the moment where I should have never left her, in the moment where she needed me the most... But if she had given me permission to take Alex away with me after all that had happened two nights previous, then she must have trusted me enough for doing so...

"Really?" Alex's question pulled me once again out from my thoughts. An arched eyebrow and a small amused smirk accompanied her surprised, slighly wider eyes, but under all of that I could see how much my answer had relieved her and made her happy. Then, all of a sudden, just when I was starting to relax once again, her expression turned serious, so serious in fact that I became immediately concerned.

...Until I heard what she said next. "You're not looking for her to tell you some embarassing story or for you to get some blackmail material for the future kid, are you?"

Relief washed over me when I realized that she was just teasing me, and I could only laugh out loud at her question, even if my heart fluttered wildly in my chest when a word in particular that she said echoed in my head.

Future.

 _A future with Alex,_ I thought.

The smile on my lips only became wider and a soft blush spread across my cheeks.

"What?" My lover asked through a new round of throaty chuckles, her eyes so bright, sparkling with so much happiness that I simply couldn't resist and just leaned in to capture those full, rosy lips with my own.

She greeted me eagerly, tightening a little the hold that she had on my hips to bring me even closer to her as I parted my lips to allow entrance to her tongue.

I could have spent hours simply kissing Alex and probably would have demanded for more.

I could never have enough of her sweet taste, of the softness of her lips, of the warmth of her mouth, of the way her tongue embraced mine so perfectly, turning my legs into jelly every blissful time.

But before it could escalate into something more, as I was already sensing coming from my lover, I pulled back, reluctantly, hearing a small groan of protest coming from my lover. Later we would have had all the time we wanted to explore each other over and over like our bodies were asking to. Right now, I wanted to reassure her from the small doubts and concerns that she was feeling; the ones that she was partially masking under the amusement that she had showed in the last few minutes.

"No blackmail material my darling," I said, watching how she visibly relaxed at my words. "Although I may be interested to listent to some of those embarassing stories you have mentioned." I admitted with a smile, enjoying the way her eyes widened with worry once again before I continued in a more serious, yet reassuring tone. "I'm happy that Nicky will join us here," And I really was, my concerns were more about a certain conversation that part of me dreaded, but that I was actually hoping that I would had with the petite woman after the latest events, but I didn't want to worry Alex further. This was something _I_ needed to fix, and I didn't want my lover to take sides. "As I said earlier I would really like to know more about her, and she seems quite fun to have around." I concluded in a lighter, more playful tone making Alex chuckle at my words.

"Oh, you can certainly say that," Hear her laugh and see the sparkle of joy in her green gems was what succeeded to soothe me more than anything else. "And," She paused, looking down for a moment to take my hand into hers before her gaze returned to me. "I would like very much to see you two get along..."

Her eyes softened and so did mine when I saw the hint of hesitancy and heard the gentleness in her voice. It was clear how much that would have meant to her, and I could perfectly understand her _need_ to see me and her best friend get along. Both Nicky and I cared for Alex, immensely so, even if in two different ways.

Maybe she would have seen the depth and the sincerity of the feelings that I had for her, and maybe that would have been enough to convince her how much Alex meant to me, see my regret and how deeply sorry I was for the mistake I had made.

But right now, with my lover standing in front of me and with this incredible chalet all for ourselves to enjoy -for now- all I wanted to think about, was _us_.

I could see the slightlest hint of doubt left in my lover's eyes, as if she knew that there was something else that I was _keeping_ from her; the concern that I felt about her best friend that I had no intention to express, not wanting to place an unnecessary weight on my lover's right when she was recovering, so I gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth. "You don't need to worry sweetie." The words were meant to reassure her, and they worked, she melted when I claimed her lips in a much more tender kiss, but the effect, strangely enough, bounced also back to me; the idea that everything would have been okay, even if I didn't have an actual proof.

But I had Alex.

Safe and happy.

And for me, it was all that mattered.

Everything else just had to wait.

"So..." She began when she pulled back from the kiss, her tone and the signature mischievous smirk firmly in place on her lips already telling me what she had in mind."Would you like me to give you a _tour_ of the place before taking advantage of the tranquility and find a _new use_ for every available surface?" And as if her suggestion wasn't enough amusing -and way more arousing than what I didn't want to admit- she also wiggled her eyebrows, something that made me burst out laughing.

"Oh, believe me, I would love to, and I have every intention to take you up on that offer," I purred noticing how the hold that she had around my waist tightened a little more to bring me closer to her and feeling as my core clenched with anticipation as I thought about all the things that I wanted to do to her. "But first," And as soon as those two words left my lips, the very expected groan fell from hers, making me grin at her eagerness that she had to get me naked and at her reluctance to do what she knew I was going to ask.

"I think you should rest a little Alex, it's been a long trip and you are still recovering." Despite my insistance, Alex had assured me that she could drive without problems, telling me that her car was provided with steering wheel commands so that she didn't need to put her leg under more unnecessary stress, but my concerns remained, as did Alex's reluctance of course.

She shook her head at me. "I'm _fine_ Piper... I came here to spend some precious time _with you_ , not so that I could rest. Not to mention that I'm not tired." She concluded satisfied with an incredibly smug smirk, but I wasn't fooled; the slightly darker shades under her eyes and the way she had shifted in the last few moments, leaning against the doorframe to put more weight on her uninjured leg, was telling me a different story from hers.

"Alex..." I didn't want to start a fight over this, and luckily, this time it was sufficient to call her name and give her a pointed look with an arched eyebrow as I crossed my arms over my chest to see her sigh and tilt her head down in defeat.

"Alright... You got me, but I'm not so tired to take a nap right now." I smiled sweetly at her, happy that she was being honest with me, even if the thing was still making her feel a little uncomfortable and exposed, not being used to it. But I appreciated it immensely; insist would have been more like a punishment, but maybe we could find a compromise.

"What if you lead me towards the kitchen and then sit, relax and stay there with me while I prepare something to eat?" I offered. We had almost nothing to unpack; few were the things that I had brought for the following week, but luckily, before arriving at the chalet we stopped in a grocery store and picked up the necessary for the meals.

At my suggestion, Alex beamed at me, a smile so warm and genuine that I could only return with the same sentiment.

"I certainly can't say no to that, can I? Especially when such a beautiful, smart, talented girl is _offering_ to cook for me."

I chuckled as I picked up from the floor the bag of grocery, handing to Alex her crutches with my free hand before I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Anything for you." I whispered when I pulled back, succeeding in making her blush. "Just try not to look so pretty or you'll distract me..." I added at last, but keeping for myself the _"or I'll end up having you for lunch instead"_ part when I saw that a small grin was already starting to tug at her lips, knowing what kind of reaction those words would have had on my passionate, selfless, insatiable lover.

"I'll do my best ma'am," She said, pretending a serious expression as she straightened her back and saluted making me burst out laughing. "...but no promises." And then, of course, she winked.

 **. . .**

We ended up eating in the living room, sat next to each other on the large, soft carpet in front of the lit fireplace.

I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the mouth-watering smell of vegetables and chicken noodles reached my nostrils as Piper cooked, enjoying the simple domestic moment in between talks and banters.

"Mmm...This was _so_ delicious kid..." I praised her with my mouth still full from the last bite of food that I had taken, making my sweet girl laugh for how muffled the words came out when I spoke.

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it but it's nothing special..." Her modesty was expected, but she was right, it was a simple enough dish, yet incredibly delicious, spicy, but not too much and with the perfect amount of sauce. And the part that I enjoyed the most was watching Piper preparing it _for me_ with the same care and passion that I had noticed the few times that I had seen her drawing, and _that_ was something that warmed me from the inside like nothing else ever did.

I had wolfed it all down in less than five minutes, much to my lover's amusement who, when I finished, had still half of the food left in her bowl.

"I still appreciate it very much," I said, pausing as I shifted carefully on my seat to place my empty bowl and fork on the large rustic coffee table in front of us, before I continued. "I couldn't cook even if my life depended on it," I admitted without shame watching how Piper's shoulders shook as she chuckled amused around a bite of noodles. "Do you often cook for yourself?"

I wouldn't have been surprised if she said yes, not even one bit if she told me that she had actually learned to do so by herself. Cooking required grace, precision, passion, it was another form of art, and she already had all those traits. The ones that I had also noticed that same afternoon when she was cooking in between chats and a few banters that I told her only to see her smile and hear her melodious laugh full of mirth fill the air around us.

She chewed, then swallowed down her last bite before giving me the answer that I already expected.

"Yes, actually... When I knew that I wanted to stop at the library to study after class the following day I always prapared my lunches at home the night before and then brought it with me. It was more affordable, not to say that the line in the cafetteria could be a real nightmare and the food... Well, not so good." The brief look of disgust that flashed across her face as she shuddered made me chuckle, but then, just when I saw the hint of a smile starting to tug at her lips, her expression changed.

That smile, from amused and sincere, became sad, nostalgic, until she diverted her eyes from mine to look down at the almost empty bowl that she was holding in her lap.

"And to say that just a few years ago I didn't even know how to boil an egg." She said quietly, absently, with a humourless soft laugh and an expression that combined with all the rest was starting to worry me. Her eyes were distant, lost into the thoughts that I knew were swirling in her head, but I wanted her back. Whatever she was thinking, whatever memory this simple conversation had triggered, was certainly nothing good.

"Piper?" I whispered her name softly, turning as much as I could in my position to face her without having to bend my stretched injured leg.

Luckily, my voice was enough to make her blink and get her attention, but when she turned to look at me and I finally met her eyes, a sharp stab of pain hit me right in the chest when I noticed the way they were glistening with tears.

The small smile that she gave me didn't fool me, and she knew that, since just a moment later she diverted her gaze once again.

Now I was definitely worried. My heart started beating faster and my stomach clenched painfully with a sense of anguish.

"Piper what is it?" I asked trying to keep my voice as soft as possible as I reached out tentatively, gently, to lift her chin and seek her gaze.

Clear blue eyes looked at me with such an immense sadness that I felt my heart cracking open, but letting nothing else transpire through my eyes except for reassurance, comfort and the safety I wanted her to feel.

And it worked.

She didn't pull back or tried to mask her pain like I had noticed her doing a few other times, instead, after placing aside the bowl that was resting in her lap and I saw her swallow down the lump that I knew had formed in her throat, she spoke.

"I was just thinking about all the things, even small things, that I've learned and that I have done since I... Left."

 _Since she had been on her own..._ I concluded in a more appropriate way, but I knew what she meant, or at least I suspected it.

Piper had never told me anything about her past except that she was from Connecticut. But I had noticed that same sadness that I could see now in her eyes, the same pain and melancholy that I saw flashing across her face only a couple of other times, when a conversation was leading towards what she did before coming in New York.

I knew that I wasn't the only one with a troubled past... The way I met her in the first place was enough to make me think about how _promising_ all of that could have been. But I still hoped that her past wasn't as dark and painful as mine had been.

"Piper," I cupped her cheek in my hand, noticing the way she had started to bite absently her bottom lip and the way her eyes, if possible, had become even sadder in the short moment of silence. "You know that you don't have to tell me anything if you don't feel like it, right kid?" I asked, reassuring her softly, stroking her cheekbone affectionately.

I knew well enough what it was like to remember the past, try to put back together those broken sharp pieces in order to find a sense for how things had gone, and only ending up cutting yourself over and over in the attempt.

Part of me expected to see her tilt her head down and divert her gaze from mine, but she didn't. She remained there, open to me, exposed, vulnerable, with just a hint of hesitation in her eyes, but that started to fade away the more she looked into mine, watching the comfort and reassurance in there that I was trying to convey to her.

And she saw it.

She _felt_ it.

"I know," She said, placing her hand above mine on her cheek, a small sincere smile tugging at her lips as she looked at me. "But I want to tell you. I... I want you to know, Alex."

I wanted to know that too, but another part, the part of me that still recongized fear, didn't want to, because I didn't want to know the story about how this beautiful, incredibly smart, sweet girl had ended up in a city where she knew no one, working for an agency as an escort to pay off her studies.

I swallowed hard, feeling as bile rose in my throat when I remembered to myself that I too had been one of those clients whom had paid for her _services_. Not for the first time, I felt disgusted, ashamed of myself when that thought crossed my mind once again. Unable to shake off completely the feeling that I had somehow taken advantage of her in those occasions even if she had always been more than willing. But this was the matter of discussion for another time.

"Are you sure?" I asked her at last, not knowing if I wanted her to think better about it, giving her a way out, or if I was actually asking the question to myself as a preparation to what I didn't know she would have told me next. All I knew, was that try to mask my sudden nervousness was becoming a challenge, even for me.

But she, right in that moment, not for the first time, showed exactly how much braver she was than me.

Another smile tugged at her lips as she turned her head and kissed softly the center of my palm.

"I'm sure." She confirmed when she pulled back, taking my hand in hers and intertwined our fingers together. Taking strenght, and also giving some to me too with that simple gesture before she started.

"I always had _a thing_ for art history, for the long lost and almost forgotten cultures. I was attracted by that veil of mystery that I could _feel_ wrapped around the ancient statues of the greek gods, amazed by how the artists during those times could reproduce with such accurancy from blocks of marble perfect sculptures, or paint on a canvas a landscape and making it seems so real that it was like looking at it from a window, giving you the impression to feel the same emotions that the artist was feeling as he worked..."

I couldn't help but smile as I listened to her; I knew well how strong the love that Piper had for the subject was, and the more she talked about it, the more my heart swelled as I noticed the way her eyes would sparkle with passion and amazement.

"I knew that I wanted to continue to study art history even before finishing high school." She continued, but then, just when the sense of anguish that had settled in my stomach was starting to fade away the more the light in her eyes became brighter, her smile started to lose its strenght, until her expression turned into one of pure sadness and her gaze shifted downward.

"But my parents had my entire life already planned for me..."

She paused, and I already suspected what she would have said next.

After such sentence, few were the possible outcomes, and of course, none of them was pleasant. I started to clench my jaw, feeling the anger surfacing a little at the time, but keeping it under control as I let her continue.

"I was expected to attend economics at the Boston University, enter in the family business, my father's company as his successors, and marry the son of one of the men with whom he was trying to get alliances, only because it would have unite the companies and be good for their business."

Her tone had been sad till now, but it was impossible not to notice how it had become bitter, almost disgusted towards the end.

I couldn't blame her.

And I didn't know what was making me angrier, if knowing that Piper's family apparently had an important business and was clearly wealthy enough to permit to pay for their daughter's studies at the Boston University because they needed her to, or if knowing that they had refused to support my lover's studies, almost forcing her to get married so young and send her away because she wanted to study something she had an undying passion for and wanted to follow no one else's steps but create her own path into life.

And what she told me next, certainly didn't reduce the rage that started boiling inside of me.

"When I told them that I wanted to follow my dream and study art history, they told me to stop wasting time and get to do something serious and _acceptable_. And when I said that I had no intention to enter in the family's business and marry someone I barely knew, refusing to be used like that because it would have helped immensely their business, they have threatened me, told me that they would have disowned me, stripped me from everything that would have been mine and left me on my own."

The more I listened, the more my jaw continued to clench, so much in fact that by the end of her last sentence I was sure my teeth were going to shatter like glass in my mouth, but when she looked up at me, and I saw her eyes filled with tears, part of that boiling anger that I felt, turned into sadness and pain, feeling as my heart started to break in my chest.

"I think you know what I decided to do at the end..." And the small shaky smile that she gave me after saying that, was the final blow that shattered my heart completely.

Only in that moment, after she told me her whole story, I did realize exactly how much she had been through, how much she had sacrificed to get her _freedom_ , even if calling it like that didn't seem appropriate given how thing had turned out for her after she left her home.

She could have had everything she wanted, had a comfortable life, lived without worrying about paying the rent or the other expenses that I knew she was struggling to pay without having to _sell_ her body to do so.

I was disgusted, angry like I had been just a few times in my life. _What kind of parents disown their own child for something like that? Especially Piper, the most sweet, lovable girl that I had ever met._ I asked to myself.

And for how painful it was to just even think something like that, the only answer I came up with was that they didn't love her enough to let her chose her own way.

In that moment, I did the only thing I could think of and the only one that I knew she needed to feel after telling me her heartbreaking story.

I didn't say a word. I just lifted her chin, gently, watching the first tear slid silently down her cheek as her incredibly sad eyes fixed on mine, and then, I simply leaned in, pressing my lips as softly as I could against hers in a whisper of a kiss.

She responded immediately, not even an heartbeat later, taking the reassurance and comfort that I was offering to her while I tried to take away the pain that I could feel pouring out of her.

The kiss was soft, gentle and caring, with just a hint of desperation coming from her when she tried to press herself further against me, feeling her hesitation, her insecurities, tasting the saltiness of her tears on her lips, the bitterness of her pain as if they were my own, but I had every intention to free her from all of that.

Without breaking the kiss, I shifted a little in my position, just enough to reach for her bent legs, hooking my hand under her knees and pulling her gently towards me, placing her feet on my other side so that she was half straddling me.

She brought her arms up, resing them around my shoulders like in a soft embrace as I held her tightly, almost possessively, yet always gently against me. Offering her protection, and everything she needed to feel as at the same time I thanked her, for trusting me, for letting me feel her own pain and sharing so openly with me something that had made her suffer so much, just like I had done with her when I told her about my mother.

Luckily, she didn't share my same past, she didn't have to deal with death. But she had dealt with loss anyway, and I knew that having a mother whom had always loved me and had done everything for me but whom was no longer alive, was certainly better, even if not less painful, than having both parents whom were still alive and had disowned me because I had refused to follow the path that they had already prepared for me.

We pulled back from the kiss only when our lungs demanded it, but we remained close, forehead against forehead, sharing the same air as I placed my hand on the side of her neck and ran my thumb slowly along her jaw line.

Words had always found a way to fail me in the past, yet, this time, as I allowed my eyes to flutter open and to look up at my still distressed lover, I knew exactly what to say.

"What you did, was brave Piper. Leave everything behind, follow your heart, do everything in your power and even beyond that to get what you desired so much, takes a courage that only few possess."

Her eyes had widened, and new tears were shining into them, made even brighter by the reflection of light of the flickering flames that were dancing from the fireplace, but those ones were not tears of sorrow.

"My parents said that mine was just an adoloscent tantrum and that I would have come back to them begging, saying that I couldn't make it on my own..." Then she paused, looking down before taking in a shaky breath and meet my gaze once again. "Did they really think so little of me?"

A painful lump formed in my throat when I heard that, my veins burned with so much anger that I could barely contain myself, but I swallowed it down and calmed my racing heart in order to comfort her.

She was my priority now.

My rage had no use in all of this.

"They were wrong. You have proved that. I'm sorry that your parents have not showed their love for you, have not taken care of you like you deserved." Her gaze returned down, but I brought my hand under my chin and gently lifted her head once again to meet her gaze. She needed to look at me for the next part. She needed to _see_ the sincerity and the truth in my eyes. "But you are _worth_ of love, Piper" Another tear slid down her cheek at my words and in front of the light of love that I wanted her to see shine in my eyes for her.

I wiped that lonely tear away with the pad of my thumb and then I continued. "More than anybody else. And you are whort of everything good that this world has to offer to you."

This time, I was the one whom had to take in a steady breath before I could go on, knowing that what I wanted to say next was the part that would have removed the last piece of armor that I kept around my heart, leaving me completely exposed, but wanting to do it, because I wanted her to know how special she was to me, how much she meant to me.

"I know that it's not the same Piper, and I know that this is not like having the love of your parents or the one of the other people you've left behind, but..." I paused, long enough to see the confirmation that I needed shine in her beautiful clear blue eyes, and then, the word simply left my lips as if I had already said them a thousand of times to her. "You have _me_ now."

A broken sob escaped from her lips in the same moment that I saw a smile appeared on her face under all the tears.

"I'm yours, Piper... Every part of me, is yours."

That was the last thing that she made me say, because just a moment later, she leaned in, cupped my cheek in her hand and claimed my lips in a kiss so tender and full of sentiment that left me breathless.

If I had any doubt left, now there was none.

This was the woman for me.

A pure heart, a brave soul and a strong moral that nothing and no one had been able to take down.

She may had faltered in her darkest moments, but she always stood up in front of everything. She was much more stronger than me, and that only made me love her even more, made me even more proud to be with her.

"You are right, Alex." She whispered against my lips when she pulled back. "What we have, you and me, it's not the same..." Hearing her saying that would have been enough to worry me like only few things could, but the smile that kept spreading on her lips and the gentle caress on her fingertips on my cheek, were enough to reassure me, and if they would have, the words that she said next certainly did. "It is immeasurably better." She confessed, feeling as my own tears started to well up in my eyes. "Something so deep and pure that I never thought I could even have found in my entire life."

And to think that we found each other in the most strange way, in a situation where nothing else beside simple physical pleasure should have mattered... The hint of dark irony wasn't lost on me.

In response to what she said, I leaned in and kissed her another time, deeply, having no more words to offer to her, but knowing that she could feel everything through that simple, meaningful kiss.

A kiss that started to escalate quickly into something more, but that never lost its tenderness as she snuggled closer to me, seeking more contact.

There were more things that I wanted to ask, more questions that her story had brought up, but she was already emotionally tried, and I didn't want to risk to bring her more pain by asking them to her.

She had suffered enough, now I just wanted her to feel loved, safe, protected.

"Alex?" She whispered my name, asking for my attention as she separated her lips from mine.

I looked up at her, and what I saw reflecting in her endless blue pool made my heart skip a beat and sucked all the air from my lungs.

"I'm yours too."

That was enough to make me feel new tears forming in my eyes as an overwhelming sense of happiness that I had never known before settled inside my chest, but the sweet, incredibly tender request that followed just a moment later, was what made my heart ache with love.

"Make love to me?"

The depth of the sentiment lying in her eyes, the softness in her voice... It was all too much.

I claimed her lips, feeling as the first tear slid down my cheek as I kissed her with everything I had, easing her gently down on the carpet as I settled carefully on top of her.

I made love to her four times, with the roaring fire and the sound of our lovemaking, of our combined moans and labored breaths as the only background of that blissful afternoon.

I made love to her slowly, cherishing every inch of her body, kissing every millimeter of soft, warm skin I found, tasting her pure essence directly from her source over and over, showing to her how much I loved her as she did the same with me, until we were both spent, and she fell asleep in my arms. A small smile tugging at her lips in her sleep as she snuggled closer to me.

Beautiful as I had never seen her before.

Watching how the reflection of the flickering flames coming from the fireplace danced so beautifully on her face as I covered us both with a blanket.

In that moment, as I held her protectively in my arms and watched her sleep so peacefully, I made a silent promise to her, to myself. Knowing that I would have done everything in my power to keep her safe and happy for as long as she would have let me to, but already knowing, deep down in my heart, that it would have been forever.


	30. Chapter 30

Hi there!

Thank you so much for all your reviews guys :D I'm so happy you liked the previous chapter... As I said a few chapters back, this story is coming to an end guys, I have just one or two chapter(s) left, but in the meantime, here's a long one for you :)

Enjoy

* * *

Watching Alex sleep was one of the many things about her that I knew would have always brought a smile to my face.

See all that strength and power being replaced by serenity and blissfulness with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she dreamed, was something that never failed in making my heart flutter wildly in my chest. And that morning was no exception.

My hand came up from under the blankets to move gently aside a strand of black hair that had fallen and covered her beautiful face, unable to resist the urge or to give the occasion to touch her even if just in such a simple, innocent way.

It amazed me every time see how beautiful she was. Especially like that, with the light of the morning sun streaming through the windows to caress her face so delicately, flattering even more her already gorgeous features.

With a tender smile on my lips I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth before, with immense reluctance, I gently removed my lover's arm from around my waist and got out of bed as quietly as possible.

She stirred oh so adorably, mumbled something unintelligible, but luckily didn't wake up from her deep sleep.

I had to stiffle a laugh however when, as soon as I was up on my feet, I saw her embracing the pillow that I had been using.

She was so cute all wrapped up in the blankets that, not for the first time in the last minute, I found myself considering the idea to just get into bed once again. But then I remembered the reason because I had to get up, or better, my bladder did, so I turned and slipped silently into the adjacent bathroom.

I took a few minutes longer to wash my face and brush my teeth, and when I returned in the bedroom, Alex was still there, blissfully asleep.

A great part of me ached for how much I wanted to slip under the blankets with her once again, but the other part knew that I would have ended up by waking up my lover, knowing that I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands still for too long with such a magnificent creature lying so close beside me.

It was still relatively early, and I didn't have the heart to wake her up, after all, she was still recovering... My poor baby...

She needed as much rest as she could get.

The air around was warm, pleasant and comforting, but not as much as the safe embrace in which my lover was holding me just a few minutes previous, so I decided to put on a sweatshirt, _Alex's_ sweatshirt, deliberately choosing one of hers because they were a little larger and more comfortable.

...Not to mention that having and smelling her scent on me always started an epic battle of butterflies in my stomach.

I gave another glance towards my sleeping lover and then left the room quietly, with a silly, lovesick smile that I was sure would have remained permanently on my face, and that was perfectly fine with me.

It was the reaction that waking up beside a peacefully sleeping Alex had on me. And also the one that spread across my cheeks at night when were into bed and she pulled me into her arms, lulling me to sleep in her safe, loving embrace.

I made my way downstairs thinking about the bliss that those past few days had been, smiling even wider and with excitement when I thought that many more were ahead of us in our little vacation before we had to return to real life.

I walked down the hallway, heading towards the kitchen with the idea to prepare some tea and maybe something to eat too while I waited for Alex to wake up, thinking about the possible things that we could do that day.

The sun's rays were streaming through the few gaps in the clouds, but I could tell, by the layer of hoarfrost that covered the grass and the small plants that surrounded the chalet, that it was pretty cold. The temperature had dropped drastically the previous night and it wouldn't have been a surprise if it would have started to snow given the characteristics grey clouds that I noticed in the distance when I got closer to take a better look outside from one of the main large windows down the hallway, taking a few moments to enjoy the beautiful view of the calm immense lake and the majestic mountains right across from it, that with their fresh white peaks confirmed my theory.

I pulled back from the window feeling an icy shiver running up my spine that made me rub my hands up and down my arms as the desire to sip something warm under a blanket grew even more in front of that sight.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts and in the simple image that formed in my head of me and Alex spending the morning cuddled in front of the lit fireplace, that as soon as I entered in the kitchen I nearly jumped out of my skin when a strangely familiar voice greeted me.

"Good morning blondie."

As soon as I heard that my head snapped up from where I was looking at the floor and my hand flew to my chest as if the gesture would have been enough to slow down my suddenly racing heart and made it return into my chest from where it had jumped in my throat.

Even if my eyes had snapped shut for reflex for a split second because of the surprise, I was still able to catch a flash of a shapeless mass of reddish-blonde hair, something that was more than enough for me to identify that person, even before my eyes could flutter open once again.

"N-Nicky! H-hi..."

The petite woman was sitting on one of the stools on the other side of the kitchen island with a steamy cup, of what I suspected was coffee, nestled between her hands.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." She said through a chuckle, evidently amused by my reaction.

Finally, after what seemed had been a life time, I started breathing once again even if I could feel a new sensation settling in my stomach. One that I immediately recognized as nervousness.

"It's okay, really... It's just that I wasn't expecting to see you." I explained sincerely. Alex had told me that Nicky would have come to spend some time with us, but she didn't know when she would have joined us, and seeing her there in front of me that morning was certainly a surprise. "Have you just arrived?" I asked deciding to accept her invitation and take a seat when she gesture the stool resting on the other side in front of her.

"Yes," She nodded after swallowing down a sip of coffee. "Half an hour ago more or less. Decided to hit the road early to avoid traffic."

"Did it work?" I asked with a small smile on my lips that grew a little more when she gave me one of her own back.

"Actually yes," Then she turned a little and gestured behind her where a box of what I suspected contained freshly baked donuts and pastries was resting on the countertop. "And I've brought breakfast too, help yourself..." She invited me, but I hesitated. The sense of nervousness that had settled in my stomach and that had started to grow, spreading in my chest, had taken away my appetite and in that moment the only thing I could think of was a certain conversation that I could already feel coming, as if it was waiting for me from behind a hidden shadowed corner.

"No thank you..." I said at last, declining politely her kind offer for the moment. "Maybe in a while."

She gave me this strange, yet kind of amusing look, but didn't insist. "Alright..." She paused, taking another sip of coffee and then, just as I expected she asked the question that I knew she wanted to ask me as soon as she saw me enter alone in the kitchen.

"Alex?" She just said her name with a light inflection at the end, but she didn't need to add anything else.

A full, maybe even still a little lovesick smile appeared on my face without me even realizing it as I thought about how I left her in the bedroom.

"She is still asleep. I didn't want to wake her up..." I offered at last, the smile never leaving my lips. "I guess she was still tired."

The petite woman looked at me with suspicious for a moment and then, with an arched brow asked "Tired or _worn out_?"

The meaning behind her words was pretty clear and nothing would have ever prevented the furious blush to spread across my cheeks, the one that spoke louder than anything I could have come up with as I tilted my head down, trying to cover my flushed face from the petite woman in front of me while rubbing awkwardly the back of my neck.

She laughed.

An honest laugh full of mirth that filled the air around us and made it lighter. "I see..." She said once she recovered with a mischievous smirk playing on her lips, but noticing how that same smirk started to lose its strenght, turning slowly into an almost tentative smile before she asked with a hint of hesitation "Is she... Doing okay?"

My expression softened immediately when I heard the unmistakable concern in her voice. Say that it warmed my heart knowing that Alex had such a true, concerned friend that cared so much about her, was an immense understatement and something that brought an even softer smile on my lips.

"She is doing very well Nicky." I reassured her, watching the way her shoulders relaxed when she exhaled the breath that I didn't notice she was holding hostage in her lungs. "I'm taking care of her..." I decided to add at last with a nod looking right into her expressive warm brown pools.

She looked at me for a moment longer as if she was seeking for something in my eyes before streightening her back once again and shifting a little in her seat.

"I know. I would have _never_ let you take Alex with you if wasn't sure that you would have taken care of her."

I knew that she must have trusted me to permit me to take Alex away, but hearing her actually saying that, even if with a hard look on her face, had a very strong effect on me. It warmed me from the inside but, at the same time, it also accentuated that sense of nervousness that I was trying to keep at bay, the one that I knew would have never gone away as long as the reason because it was there in the first place wouldn't have been faced.

I straightened my back a little too and held her gaze as a much needed wave of strength washed over me before I spoke the truth that lived in my heart "I would never hurt Alex, Nicky." I assured her with nothing but confidence filling my voice.

A small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at her lips, but it was so little that I thought I had just imagined it, especially when I notice that her eyes, the same that had been warm and welcoming just a minute before, started to turn into a cold shade of steel.

"But you did." She said at last, and at her words, my heart cracked open and my stomach tightened painfully.

The confidence that I felt disappeared from me with the same speed with which it had appeared as my gaze shifted downwards, and the only thing I could do was nod, reluctantly, before murmuring a weak "I know."

The reminder of how I left Alex broken, wounded, injured in that hospital bed, the flash of fear that I saw in her green eyes when she realized that I was leaving... Those images kept hunting me even if I knew that now everything had been fixed, that we were okay and happy and that my lover had forgiven me. Yet, the guilt was still alive inside of me, and I suspected that it would have been a while before it would have dissolved completely.

But, in the meantime, I had no intention to let it rule over me.

After taking a small sip of air, I raised my head, meeting the eyes of the woman in front of me once again with a new resolution lying in my own.

"I've been a coward to leave like I did." I admitted before I started to explain. "I was shocked, confused... And I know that it doesn't justify what I did, even if I needed my time to process everything Alex told me. But she isn't the only one who has suffered for my impetuous actions."

My eyes remained fixed on hers because I wanted her to see the sincerity of my words and the authentic pain that was lying in my eyes, knowing that she had seen it when I noticed how her expression softened a little.

"I think I understand how you must have felt, Piper. Believe me." She confessed with a knowing look before her gaze became hard once again as she leaned forward, placing the cup of coffee aside before clasping her hands in front of her. "But I still need to tell you this, and you better listen to me carefully."

The intimidation in her voice and pose was unmistakable, but I prepared myself for the threat that I knew was coming holding my head high, showing no fear or insecurity.

I may had been a little nervous knowing that I this was a conversation that I needed to have with Alex's best friend.

But I had nothing to feel insecure about.

And I had nothing to fear.

My love for Alex was pure, strong, and nothing would have taken that away from me. From us.

"I'm a very straigth forward person Piper, so I won't use pretty words or get around the matter..." She paused and I found myself so strangely calm as I held her now almost murderous gaze while I waited for her to continue with the inevitable. "Just know that if you'll _ever_ hurt her or make her suffer again, I will hunt you down Piper." She pointed her finger at me and then continued. "Alex may had been the one doing all the killing in her work," She said, and at her words my heart jumped against my ribcage at the reminder of what kind of job my lover did, but not faltering even a little in front of Nicky's threat as she continued. "But I've learned a few things myself after spending so much time around her for all these years."

The look she gave me and the authenticity of that threat would have scared to death anybody else, I was sure of that. But the effect it had on me, it didn't even come close to a serious sense of nervousness.

I just held her gaze a moment longer, blinked, and then gave her my answer.

"If that happens," I started, slowly, as I leaned a bit forward resting my forearms on the marble surface of the kitchen island. "and I can assure you that it won't, _ever_. Then I would have deserved it. But I can tell you, that it won't be anything worst than what I would do to myself if I'll dare to hurt her another time."

It was a truth that came from the deepest place in my heart, from where my love for Alex beat strongly. I was still having a hard time trying to forgive myself after what I had done to my lover by leaving her behind, and nothing would have ever made me act like that again.

The look of surprise that crossed Nicky's features at my words wasn't lost on me, and I knew that with my sincerity I had hit the spot I was aiming for, but just so that she knew it, I added the part that I would have screamed for the entire world to hear.

"I love her Nicky."

Of that she didn't seem surprised. "I know you do." She replied, and this time, I was the one who showed surprise hearing her words. "I've observed you at the hospital, I've seen how worried you were for her, and I've seen _exactly_ how much you care for her."

The smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth was even more confusing after what she had just said to me, so I decided to ask. "Then why did you... I mean... earlier you said-"

But she didn't let me continue, already knowing that what I was trying to ask her was about her previous heavy threats.

"I needed to be sure of your intentions with her." She admitted. "And I'm just looking out for my friend." At that, I couldn't help but feel as my heart melted a little. I never had anyone who had been worth of such title or showed such loyality to me when I had found myself in trouble, but apparently real friendship existed, and I was immensely glad that Alex had a true friend always at her side.

"If I can do _anything_ to prevent her pain, than I'll do it." She continued before shifting her gaze downwards. "Alex has suffered enough in this life."

"...I know." I said softly but still loud enough to get Nicky's attention back. Her gaze returned to me with more than a hint of confusion as her brows furrowed deeply. "She told me about what happened to her mom." I confessed, and this time, she didn't even bother to try to mask the look of surprise that appeared on her face.

"She did?" She asked leaning forward as if she had heard wrong.

I just nodded with a sad smile on my lips.

"Wow..." She whispered incredulous as she leaned back, blinking and shaking her head as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Alex never told that to _anyone_ before."

I couldn't blame my lover for not wanting to share that tragic event with everyone, but knowing that I was the first one to whom she had decided to share the darkests moments of her life, for how painful it had been, it filled me with a strange warmth that made me blush a little, and for once it wasn't for embarassment or shyness.

"Look Piper," Nicky's sigh made me look up at her, noticing how much her features had softened, making her appear more friendly and much less threatening. "I don't have anything against you. On the contrary. I like you," I couldn't suppress the smile that started tugging at my lips at that admission. "And I hope you understand why... You know..." _Why she had threatened me_ , I finished silently for her as she lifted one shoulder as if trying to shrug off the previous conversation, running a hand distractly through her messy long hair.

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Suddenly, she was the one who looked like the most nervous of the two.

"It's okay Nicky." I reassured her. "I'm actually glad that we had this discussion."

"Good..." She said sounding relieved. "Me too. And just so that we are clear, I've never threatened anyone because of Alex before. But you are the first person she has showed a true, deep interest in after... Honestly, I don't even know how many years, and that marks you as the one who could hurt her the most."

She was right. No one had the power to hurt us most than the people we love. I knew that well enough.

"Her heart in not easily carried away Piper." Nicky continued with a small smile on her lips. "You must be very special to her."

"I..." A furious blush spread across my cheeks as my heart exploded with an overwhelming surge of joy and love. "I never cared for anyone like I do for Alex." I admitted with nothing but honesty before raising my head and look at the petite smiling woman in front of me. "She is very special to me too."

Her smile became even wider and a glint of authentic happiness started to shine in her eyes.

"I know... And now that we are all good," She said, changing her tone into a more playful one before turning for a moment to pick up the bakery box resting behind her and opening it in front of me. "A peace offering?"

I reached out to take an almond donut but stopped with my hand in mid-air, hesitating and making Nicky burst out laughing.

"Don't worry kid," She said though a chuckle when she recovered. "They're not poisoned."

She took one of her own to reassure me further and I laughed softly.

"Thank you Nicky... Also for your hospitality here." I said gratefully.

"Oh please Piper," She replied dismissively through a bite of Boston cream. "Don't be so formal... This place is as much mine as Alex's, and now, you are one of us too. So, don't even mention it." She concluded throwing me a friendly wink.

At her words, the same warmth that I felt before returned into my chest and brought a shy yet, full smile on my face.

"So..." She started, handing me a napkin as I sucked the sticky glaze left on the pad of my thumb. "Did Alex ever tell you how our first encounter ended up like?"

I laughed. "Yes... Yes she did." I answered as I remembered Alex telling me about the small _accident_ that happened when they first met in the squad room.

"I see..." She replied thoughtfully. "But I bet she hasn't told you about that time she had to give chase to a suspect in the docks..." She guessed, succeeding in making me immediately curious.

"She hasn't..." I confirmed with an amused smirk. "And I have to say that that one sounds like a pretty funny story." I admitted, chuckling softly when I saw the wide grin that started spreading slowly across Nicky's face just a moment later.

"Oh, you have no idea blondie..."

 **. . .**

"And then what happened?"

A smile tugged at my lips as soon as I heard that voice, recognizing it immediately as the one of my lover and noticing the heavy note of curiosity combined with more than a hint of excitement in it.

The voices became louder as I made my way down the hallway towards the kitchen, for the first time without needing to use my crutches, but still being careful, supporting most of my weight on my uninjured leg as I walked, slowly.

"She waited for him hid behind one of the containers, knowing that he was running towards that direction not having any other way out, and then, when she heard his steps approaching, she came out, shouting to freeze and pointing the gun at him, scaring the poor bastard almost to death and enough to make him lose his balance. And to prevent to fall over the edge of the dock he reached instinctively for Alex..."

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself with a shake on my head when I listened to my best friend intent in telling Piper that particular story.

"They both ended up in the fucking East River among bags of trash and every kind of filth you can imagine..."

I entered in the kitchen right in the moment to witness a sight that made my heart flutter wildly in my chest.

My lover burst out laughing, tilting her head back and exposing her elegant neck as her melodious laugh filled the air and reached the deepest places inside me.

Nicky chuckled, amused at her reaction, still not having noticed my presence as I leaned against the doorframe crossing my arms under my breasts and kept watching them with a smirk.

"Once we pulled them out of that garbage dump, arrested the guy and brought Alex back to the office, I accompanied her to the medical lab where she took something like three decontamination showers."

I watched as Piper wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes as she started to recover, slowly, regaining her breathing in small sips of air between one laugh and the other.

In any other case, listen to my best friend tell one of the most embarassing stories that had me as protagonists, would have made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but watching her and my lover having a nice time, together, getting along just like I desired and having a laugh about that riduculous event, warmed me from the inside like nothing else.

"Actually, I took four showers that afternoon," I said through a soft chuckle of my own, deciding to make my presence known to the two most important people in my life, watching as they shifted their attention immediately on me as I took the remaining couple of steps into the kitchen. "I had one before returning at home, and I had to throw away my favourite pair of jeans that time."

Piper smiled brightly at me as soon as she saw me while Nicky threw me an amused smirk.

"Well well, look who's finally decided to wake up and join us... Good morning sleeping beauty."

I narrowed my eyes playfully at my friend but greeted her back. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nah... As you know, I've already gotten to the most embarassing part." My friend reassured me waving a dismissive hand as I turned to look at Piper, who, in the meantime, had stood up from her seat and reached my side.

"Hey..." She greeted me with a warm loving smile and the same breathtaking light that I always found in her endless blue pools whenever she looked at me.

"Hey yourself." I said through a small chuckle. "Is everything alright?" I asked then in a more serious but always light tone as I ran my hands up her arms.

She nodded at me, and if it was possible, her smile became even brighter before she whispered her answer. "Perfect."

I just couldn't help myself and so, just a moment later, I leaned in, cupping her cheek in my hand and pressing my lips softly against hers.

She responded immediately, melting into the kiss as she clung gently to my shirt.

My heart fluttered so wildly into my chest when I tasted the sweetness of my lover's lips, that took my breath away.

For a few seconds it was like nothing else existed, but just in the moment Piper parted her lips to allow me entrance and deepen the kiss, we were both brought back into reality by the sound of a clearing throat.

We had completely forgotten about the presence of my best friend in the room and pulled back almost immediately, chuckling when I felt Piper coming closer so that she could hide the furious blush of embarassment that had spread so quickly across her face, on the crook of my neck until she would have regained her normal color.

Even if my friend pretended to look towards another direction as she sipped from her cup, I knew it was just a scene to hide a shit eating grin and try to look nonchalant. The sparkle that I saw shine in her eyes when she turned briefly to look at us gave her away.

"Do you guys need some privacy?" She asked trying not to show her smirk but not putting much effort into it.

Surprisingly, even before I could open my mouth to reply, Piper pulled back from my neck and gave a soft timid smile to both me and my friend before shaking her head in negative; the blush still present on her cheeks but much softer.

"No need... Actually... I think I'll leave you two alone and go take a quick shower since you are awake now." She said to me, running her thumb across my ribs when she rested her hand briefly on my side. "You have something to eat in the meantime, alright?" She asked a moment later with a hint of authority cleverly veiled under the warm loving smile that she gave me. A smile that I was starting to suspect could make me do anything for her.

"Okay..." I answered, chuckling once again when she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek this time, exchanging a friendly smile with my best friend when she pulled back before leaving the kitchen, leaving me standing there, unable to take my eyes off her as she walked down the hallway and towards the stairs.

It was a badly coughed _"smitten"_ coming from my friend that pulled me out from my daydream a few moments later, not even a bit surprised when I realized that I was smiling like a fool while I was staring after the retreating form of my lover.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that..." I said as soon as I recovered and turned to look at Nicky, noticing immediately the innocent expression that for it to be on her face was too damn suspicious.

"Hear what? I don't know what are you talking about sister." She kept playing nonchalant standing up and pulling back one stool to make me sit as I chuckled as shook my head in amusement, deciding to let it go; if she wanted to tease me, she was welcomed to do it. I was far too gone to prove her wrong at that point. And even if I wasn't, I couldn't.

So I just decided to take her invitation and sit, with only the smallest wince of discomfort, but that wasn't small enough to pass unnoticed by my friend.

"How is your leg doing? Are you still in pain?" She asked with more than a hint of concern in her voice as she took a seat beside me.

I smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm feeling much better Nicky... Don't worry. I'm taking care of myself, and Piper is always here to remind to take it easy and helping me with all the small things I still can't do on my own." I paused, chuckling at the idea that just a short time before I wouldn't have let anyone take care of me or let them see me so broken and vulnerable. "She even succeeded in making me take a few pills for the pain the other day." I confessed, succeding in making my friends speechless as her jaw dropped to the floor.

Nicky knew me well, better than anyone else, and knew how much I hated to take any kind of drug or medicine.

"Ok," She said pulling herself back together before continuing. "How the hell did she managed to do _that_? I want to know." She demanded, making me laugh out loud when she leaned in with wide eyes filled with curiousity and disbelief.

"Well, she can be..." I paused, considering my words very carefully and trying not to smirk too much when I concluded. "... _very persuasive_."

But unfortunately, my friend understood immediately of what I was talking about.

"Oh, I see..." She grinned. "And I bet that those _distracting_ , long, endless legs of hers have nothing to do with her _persuasion skills_... Right?"

"Nicky!" I admonished her, but she only burst out laughing. I should have expected nothing less from my very very direct friend, but I knew that hers was just another of her succesful attempts to tease me and that she didn't mean nothing by the way she had just complimented my lover's legs.

"Aw, come on Al... You know you have nothing to fear from me." She reassured me once she recovered from her last round of chuckles. "I'm just happy that you are doing better and that she was here to keep an eye on you." She added then with an honest smile one that I could only return just as sincerely as I thought about the last few days spent with my lover in our little bubble of happiness, enjoying, for the first time in my life, and allowing myself to let my guard down and let someone else, someone I loved, take care of me.

It was strange at first.

I wasn't used to feel like that...

Yet, Piper had this strange, incredible ability to take care of me without make me feel too vulnerable, as if she could read perfectly my need to mantain that part of my control that made me feel a little more secure despite the circumstances.

"It seemed like the two of you were having fun..." I said at last changing the subject as I recalled the scene that I had witnessed just a few moments previous when I entered the kitchen.

She chuckled. "Yes, you can say that. She is a really nice kid Alex... Very sweet and polite." She added with a smile. "I can see why you like her so much."

"Yeah... But it is more than just _like_ Nicky." I corrected her arching one eyebrow.

"I know, and maybe you don't remember, my dear friend, that I had already figured out _exactly_ what _that_ was before you could even admit it to yourself." And of course, she took the occasion to remember me that small detail that I had forgotten - or ignored - while I was too busy trying to understand what was going on inside me.

But what Nicky said, brought inevitably up the conversation that I had with her that afternoon in my study when I told her everything about this mysterious girl I was seeing.

Everything, except revealing her identity...

That was something that kept bugging me ever since the hospital. Since I woke up and saw Piper curled up, sleeping in that small uncomfortable looking couch, with Nicky at my bedside, realizing that my best friend had found out something that I meant to tell her and that I definitely didn't what her to find out that way.

"You okay Al?"

It was more the touch of her hand on my shoulder more than her tentative voice that pulled me out from my thoughts, realizing that I had been silent for a while with a frown.

I had to blink a couple of times before I could focus once again and meet my friend's slightly concerned brown eyes.

"Nicky... You know that I never meant to keep any of this from you, right?"

In that moment, the expression on my best friend's face softened like I had seen doing just a few time in our long friendship, and she was probably thinking the same about my voice, which had rarely sounded so little and tentative, almost insecure.

"Al, we have already talked about this, and you don't have to worry." She said with a warm reassuring smile. "I understand why you wanted to wait before telling me."

Her words were enough to make me feel better, but I wanted to be sure that she wasn't upset about that story.

We had faced so much together, and she had always remained at my side in the darkest moments.

A great part of me felt like I owned her that much.

"It's not like I was ashamed of her of anything, on the contrary." I started to explain. "I admire her and her strength. And I just felt confused, overwhelmed by all those things that I started to feel and that seemed to be coming out from nowhere. And I knew that you would have never judged me if I said that I started to go out with her but..."

I paused, running a hand through my hair and then looking down as I sighed in frustration.

Words had never been my strongest trait, but I was determinated to explain my behavior to my friend, who was still looking at me, patiently and with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips as an encouragment to continue.

"...I guess, that maybe, a small, minimal part of me was afraid that you would have not approved."

There.

I said it. But I had to divert my gaze from hers and look down as my shoulders slumped.

I was the last woman on earth who cared about what people thought about me or my choices, yet, after going through hell with one person, watching her helping me to gather my broken pieces as she tried to comfort me and reassure me day after day without abandoning me, _ever_ , jeopardizing and then losing her own job along with mine in order to help me when no one else was there for me, and when all I wanted to do was die hoping that it would have taken away my guilt for all that happened, I found out that there actually was another person whose words mattered as much as my own, and they were Nicky's.

That didn't mean that I would have listened to her if she said that she did not approve of Piper. But I would have hated with every fiber of my being to have to decide between the two of them. Between the dear friend who had kept me together for all those years, and the young woman who had made me discover my heart and love once again when I thought I had lost every trace of humanity in me. I didn't have to look deep down to know that Nicky would have never disapproved, but still, the question had kept bouncing in my head over and over despite my convictions.

"Alex..." I saw her come near from the corner of my eye, finally deciding to raise my head to look at her when she placed her hand on my exposed forearm, meeting nothing but comprehension and reassurance into those warm brown pools. "All I ever wanted was for you to be happy, to see you happy and safe, especially after all that happened."

I watched as another smile grazed her lips and reached her eyes before she continued. "And Piper... She is a great kid. I suspect that she has been through her own amount of shit too, given the way you two met... But she truly cares for you. Very much. And for me, that's all that matters."

She was right about my lover having been through a lot, but in that moment I didn't feel like explaining it and feel the anger boil into my veins again, so I just smiled, even if a bit sadly.

"Thank you Nicky." I said sincerely, gratefully, and receiving back a smile of her own.

"You know," She added softly after a few thoughtfully moments. "I'm sure Diane would have loved her too, Al."

I couldn't prevent the tears that formed in my eyes, but this time, at the mention of my mother in such scenario, made me also smile fully.

"They would have never stopped talking about art." I agreed through a small chuckle as I pictured my mom and Piper meeting for the first time, then shaking my head as I blinked back the tears before meeting my friend's kind dark eyes once again.

"Thank you Nicky," I repeated. "For your support and... Everything." Now that I had finally explained to her the reason why I had a few insecurities about telling her about Piper, I felt so much lighter, and even happier.

"Don't even mention it Alex." She reassured me with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"So, we are good?"

"We have always been sister." She confirmed squeezing my shoulder and then changing her tone into one much more playful when she continued. "Now enough of this, we are becoming to soft here and you know how much I like to preserve my fake badass appearance."

That certainly succeeded in making me laugh out loud once again.

"Soooo," She asked slowly a few moments later as she slid towards me a half full box of donuts. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?" I asked with a small frown as I chose a glazed cinnamon and divided it in two before taking a small piece. "If you are asking about what we could do today you are more than welcome to suggest... I haven't thought about it yet, and also," I paused looking briefly outside the kitchen window, noticing the white peaks on the mountains not so distant and the grey clouds that were approaching. "It looks like it will start snowing at any moment."

But by the wide smirk that appeared on my best friend's face told me that she wasn't referring about the programs for the day, and she confirmed it to me just a moment later.

"I wasn't talking about that Al... I was asking about you and Piper." The way she wiggled her eyebrows when she finished left me even more curious and confused.

"What about us?" I asked with a deeper frown as I took the first bite of my donut, almost moaning at the taste.

"You know," She said casually with a shrug, her smirk never leaving her lips, on the contrary, it only became wider. "Are you gonna marry her and have an army of kids?"

For the few following seconds, I was sure that I was going to die. Choked on the bite of food that I decided to swallow in the worst moment ever.

My eyes filled with tears as I coughed so hard that I could feel my lungs burning.

Nicky was on her feet in a blink, cursing and handing me a glass of water before patting my back and telling me to look up at the ceiling so that it would have gone down more easily.

"M-marriage?!" I asked incredulous between a cough and the other as I tried to recover, my eyes wide open with shock and my very raspy voice filled with disbelief. "You do realize that we have just seen each other for a month, right Nicky?"

Once she was sure that I was starting to regain my breathing and that I was no longer in danger, my friend sat down once again staying close beside me as she invited me to drink some more before answering my question. "Yeah, exactly and in almost ten years that I've known you, I never saw you look at anyone the way you look at Piper."

I stopped a moment to consider her words, but there was really no need. Nicky had a good point.

"Still, even if I was considering the idea, which I'm not doing right now, it's too soon Nicky. She still have to graduate from college and I've just helped her to find that new job at the museum... And kids?!" I asked at the end with even more shock in my voice as I looked at the amused smirk that only kept growing on my best friend's face. "Seriously Nicky? You know _way better_ than me that I'm not good around kids... I can't even picture myself with a kid!" I almost shouted, annoyed by the fact that my friends burst out laughing and was having fun over this when I was being nothing but dead serious.

"Oh you are terrible with kids indeed, you can say that." She agreed with me through a chuckle when she recovered, noticing how the smirk on her lips turned slowly into a honest smile. "But with your own kid? Your and Piper's?" She asked to herself shaking her head.

At those words, I couldn't ignore the way my heart - still stuck in my throat - fluttered a little, even more when she continued.

"Maybe a little girl? With Piper's same smile and timidity..."

And just when a few seconds previous I said that I couldn't, as I listened to my best friend description, it was impossible to stop myself from picturing those small details in my mind, feeling as a smile started tugging at my lips for what I imagined.

"Ha!" My friend exclamed loudly pulling me out from my thoughts. "I knew you would have thought about it!"

I shook my head biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling too much because I didn't want to give her too much satisfaction over this. "Still... Piper is too young and it is premature to talk about this things right now." I said hoping that it would have closed the topic for the moment, even if it had triggered a lot of questions in my head and brought more than a bit of nervousness inside me. Strangely enough, for the first time in my life, a good sense of nervousness.

"As you say boss." Replied my friend, and I was grateful that she had decided to let me off the hook... For the moment.

"What if we focus on the present instead, uh?" I suggested. "Like what we could do today and maybe think about finding someone for you too in the near future?"

She scoffed at me before she straightened her back and making a show as if she wanted to impress someone. "Please girl, you know that when we'll return at work every woman in the city will be all over me like ants around a sticky jar of sweet irresistible honey, begging to have a taste of me."

I burst out laughing. The last part sounded incredibly dirty even for me, but from by best friend I would have expected nothing less.

After the latest events it was good to enjoy such a simple moment with her between jokes and banters as I waited impatiently for my lover to return, eager to start the day and spend the following ones with the two persons I cared the most. Finally feeling truly happy for the first time in a very long time and knowing perfectly well who was responsible for all that happiness.


	31. Chapter 31

Hey there!

Sorry for the delay guys, it's been more than a week I know, but I had this other Vauseman fic I have been working on lately and wanted to post the first part. Thank you for being so patient :)

Anyway, about this chapter, it contains an important moment that I wanted Alex and Piper to share before the end :) So no, this is not the last chapter. The next one however... Yes, it will be the epilogue of this story... But for now, I'll leave you to this fluffy chapter :)

Enjoy

* * *

It was mid December and almost two months had passed since the little vacation spent in the cozy mountain chalet, where I had one of the best times of my new life in company of Alex and her best friend, and in those couple of months that followed, a few things had changed... Only for the better

Alex had received her badge back and returned to work with Nicky for the FBI in the same week I started my new job as a tour guide at the museum while I kept preparing my thesis.

My lover seemed happy to return to work for the Bureau, even if now she was less on the streets to kick down doors, and didn't have to deal personally with the criminals all the time like she did in the past, but had to deal with more paperworks and desk duty, and honestly, for me, that meant that even if her job was still dangerous in some ways, she was much safer, and that was something I was immensely glad for, but that didn't stop me from worrying for her the rare time she had to work on the field.

Even Alex seemed satisfied about her new assignment, saying that after five years spent killing people, even if they were all known serious, very dangerous, wanted criminals, she needed to do something that would have kept her away from action and from her gun as much as possible, wanting to change and do something more honorable, returning to do what she believed in when she started in the forces, by helping the victims and nailing the perpetrators as the System permitted, in order to _"wash away the stink of death"_ she said she felt on her, and even if I couldn't comprehend how she felt, not having lived what she did, I could certainly understand that need of hers.

Our duties kept us often apart since they took a great deal of the time at our disposal, but we always found the time to stay together during the week. Didn't matter what.

It was a promise we made to each other before starting our respective jobs, but one that didn't require as much effort as someone would have thought since we were both willing to do anything to spend as much time together whenever we could.

Thanks to our devoted commitment, things between us only kept growing, becoming stronger day after day, reaching a level of happiness and understanding that I had no idea could even exist or that I, of all people, would have ever experienced with someone as amazing, protective and loving as Alex was.

It was impossible not to keep falling in love with her with every passing day, or to prevent a smile to spread across my face everytime I found myself just thinking about her, or feel my heart pounding hard with sentiment in my chest whenever I saw her, heard her deep voice or smelled her intoxicating scent.

And that day, that sunny, chilly late morning of mid December, all those sensations presented immediately when I saw Alex smiling at me as I climbed down the last couple of stairs of the building to reach her on the courtyard, were many others were gathered to exchange a few words and say their goodbyes before leaving to celebrate.

"So, can I call you Doctor now?" She asked first thing as soon as I stepped in front of her; a small smirk already playing on her lips and that same glint of happiness and adoration shining in her beautiful green eyes, but that day there was an even brighter light sparkling in them. One that spread a comforting warmth into my chest and that contrasted so pleasantly with the cool air that I felt around me.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her question. "Not yet I'm afraid... But soon." I assured her with a full grin, watching as a wide one spread across her face too.

"Nicky is still in the DC headquarters unfortunately," She informed me and I let out a small sad sigh at that news.

After we had cleared things out at the chalet and during the last couple of months, the petite woman and I had developed a pretty good friendship, something that I knew pleased Alex immensely.

I was brought back from my thoughts when my lover continued. "...But she had an entire box of Dom Pérignon and a crate of Italian strawberries delivered at my place for you to enjoy and celebrate with, along with her good wishes and with the only raccomandation that we have lots of fun on every surface of the house we want while she is away, as long as we don't profane her refuge."

Try to contain the laugh that rose in my throat turned out to be impossible.

As soon as Alex concluded I simply couldn't contain myself and burst out laughing, not failing in capturing the attention of a few persons that were around us, and listening as a deep amused chuckle rumbled in my lover's chest in front of my reaction.

"Well," I said through a wide smile after a few moments when I finally recovered. "I think it was really nice of her."

"I agree." Alex replied wiggling her eyebrows playfully.

"And I think we should take advantage of such... _Invitation_." I suggested, smiling shyly with a faint blush coloring my cheeks.

"Definitely." My lover affirmed with a warm loving smile that made my heart flutter.

A moment later she took a small step closer, pulling a little at the long black gown that I was still wearing before she leaned in and kissed me softly on the cheek.

It was so tender and sweet in its simplicity that it made my heart skip a beat, and before she could pull back completely, I turned my head and pressed my lips against hers, unable to resist the urge and not wanting to. Not caring about the crowd of students, parents and relatives that was surrounding us. This was the woman I loved, the one who had changed my life for the better and who loved me, supported me and took care of me, more than anybody else ever did.

I brought my arms up, wrapping them around her shoulders as she rested her hands on my waist, bringing me just a little closer.

The kiss was light, innocent, but full of sentiment, and when after a few more moments she pulled back, she smiled brightly at me.

"Congratulations kid." She said happily making me grin broadly, but what she confessed next didn't fail in bringing tears to my eyes.

"I'm proud of you Piper."

The way she said it, the sincerity in her eyes, the authentic look of pride on her face...

It was all too much.

The first tear fell, sliding silently down my cheek as I tilted my head down.

"Hey," Concern filled immediately my lover's voice who took a step forward, placing a comforting hand on my arm while trying to seek my gaze. "What's wrong kid?"

I shook my head as I sniffled, wiping away the lonely tear that had escaped before I raised my head to look at Alex. Bright green eyes were looking at me with worry from behind black rimmed glasses, but her expression started to relax when she noticed the small smile on my lips, even if it still left her just a little confused.

"Nothing is wrong sweety," I reassured her taking her hand in mine, enjoying the comforting warmth of her skin against the chilly winter air as I started running my thumb across her knuckles. "Everything is just perfect."

And for me it really was.

I had always pictured my graduation day, fantasized about it, imagined both my parents being there, happy and proud like every child desired.

But things had gone differently for me... And instead of having the two persons that I thought cared about me the most in the world, but who had abandoned me and left me on my own when I refused the programmed life that they had chosen for me, I just had one.

A woman who only three months previous was a complete stranger to me, _a client_ who asked for my services, met when I was in the lowest level in my life and who had showed an authentic interest in me beyond anything else, who helped me to find a new occupation, one that I truly loved, and who had supported me and respected me and my choices since the beginning. Always.

She had forgiven me, when, after a moment of shock, I took a wrong decision and ended up hurting her unintentionally.

Leaving her had been a tremendous mistake, and one that I sworn I would have never, ever repeated when she took me back in her arms once again, loving me even more.

Thanks to her and to the job she helped me to get at the museum, I had also decided what I wanted to do after my graduation. I wanted to continue with my work and my studies, get a doctorate and become a teacher; the job as a tour guide at the museum certainly helped me understand that since it turned out that the visitors enjoyed very much the simple yet accurate way with which I described an art piece and offered always satisfying answers whenever there was a question, and I loved to share my knowledge with people who were just as passionate as I was in the subject.

None of that would have ever been possible without Alex.

She had become my everything.

After a few moments of silence, I raised my gaze and looked into my lover's warm eyes, noticing the love she felt for me shining like a beacon into those stunning, bright green pools.

"Thank you." I said softly, gratefully, feeling as new tears of joy started to rise in my throat.

Alex frowned a little through her smile as she tilted her head slightly to the side before asking "For what?"

I didn't even have to thing about my answer.

"For changing my life."

Just like I expected, she shook her head at me, but the warm loving smile never left her lips.

"I think I'm the one who should thank you Piper, for giving mine back." She paused, taking my other hand in hers. "And for giving a meaning to it."

And I knew which was the meaning she was referring to.

Because it was the same one that kept beating loudly and constantly in my chest for her.

When I blinked, another tear fell, sliding down my cheek, but this time, it was Alex who wiped it away oh so gently with the pad of her thumb. And when my gaze shifted once again and landed on one of the many families that were gathered around us, watching as one of the students who was in my same course was taking photos with her parents in that very special day, Alex noticed it immediately, and noticed the sadness in my smile.

"I'm sorry you don't have that anymore Piper..." She said looking in the same direction of mine, before coming closer and taking my hand in hers. "But I'll always be here for you. And for everything important you'll accomplish."

The promise that I heard in her voice and saw reflected in her eyes pushed away that dark shadow of pain and malancholy that I felt descend in my chest, placing a real, happy smile on my face that only became wider when I saw a small one appear on her lips too.

 _I couldn't desire for a more loving and devoted lover_ , I thought, watching as a warm soft blush started spreading across her cheeks before she tilted her head down and fiddled a little with her glasses. _And for a more adorable one_ , I added then with a full grin, knowing that she still wasn't used to feel so exposed, even if it was caused only by one of my looks.

"So," She said once she recovered and looked up at me with her cool demeanour and signature smirk firmly in place. "What do you say if we get out of here and go celebrate somewhere nice?" She asked, giving a general look around the crowded, now definitely noisy, courtyard of the college. "I think that after all the study and work you have done lately you deserve to be spoiled a little, princess." She concluded with a wink, making me blush lightly under my grin.

"It sounds like you have something very specific in mind." I noticed as I accepted her arm, placing my hand on the crook of her elbow, unable to suppress an amused chuckle at the gallant gesture.

"Oh, I have," She confirmed arching one eyebrow as she lead us out from the crowd of people. The snow that had fallen on the previous days cracked softly under our steps as we walked across the main courtyard and towards the entry of the college. "But first we have to get you out of that gown and find something more fitting for you to wear," Then she paused, and it was like I could already hear what she was going to say next. "...Or maybe not. Just out of it is good." She corrected herself winking another time and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively making me burst out laughing. I didn't mind her suggestion at all actually, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than spend the entire day just with her, didn't matter where.

During those last couple of weeks I had been quite on the edge because of the sense of anxiety and nervousness that I felt, and if it wasn't for Alex, I didn't know how I would have make it.

The last thing I wanted was to be a burden and act like an annoying, anxious girlfriend when we were together, and I tried very hard to keep it all hidden, but Alex could read me perfectly, better than anyone I ever met in my life, and she knew that I was under a great deal of stress in that period.

Say that she had been supportive, comprehensive and loving wouldn't even come closer to describe how amazing she had truly been. Just the thought was enough to bring a tender, loving smile on my lips while that same familiar warmth started spreading into my chest, and when I looked at her as we approached the parking lot in between chats and laughs my smile only became wider.

I watched how her eyes sparkled when she laughed at one of my jokes, noticing the way the intense light of the sun brought up the hidden, beautiful golden flecks that I loved so much in her emeral iris, the way her black hair was moved gently aside when the wind blew lightly caressing the perfect alabaster skin of her face, and I found myself unable to look away.

Sometimes I still couldn't believe that I really had her in my life, and whenever I thought about how we actually met, it all just seemed even more unreal.

But she was real.

She was really there with me.

And the deep, overwhelming sentiment that only kept growing between us was real and pure.

The only thing that made my smile falter a little and brought the same heavy sense of concern, sadness and pain in my heart, was when I looked down as we walked and noticed once again her light limp.

It was really small, almost imperceptible, most of people didn't even noticed it, but it was there.

Even if she had recovered very fast and completely, and luckily without any kind of problem, the tissues in her leg, apparently, hadn't cicatrized fully in the right way.

She didn't feel pain when she walked or anything, her mobility was excellent, she could still do everything she did before the accident, included running and working out, even if she still had to go very easy with it, but every now and then, especially when the weather was bad, she suffered because of the cramps.

That sight had always the power to clench my heart painfully, and more than once during those past few months I had to blink back tears in front of it, even if Alex always assured me that she was fine and that I had nothing to worry about.

She was right, the danger had passed, she was safe. And whenever she was in a bit of pain I always did whatever was in my power to make her feel better.

But that limp... That limp that I knew would have always be there. For how little it was, it was a reminder, as were the two three inches, still rosy scars left on the front and back of her thigh. A reminder of how close I came to lose her forever.

Just in the moment I was starting to feel a lump forming in my throat, the sensation of a warm, strong, yet delicate hand slipping gently into mine, brought me back to reality.

I had to blink a few times to focus once again, but as soon as my eyes fixed on Alex's face and I saw the soft, loving smile on her lips and the same light of adoration shining in her eyes, all of a sudden, those dark thoughts that had clouded my mind for just a few short seconds, started to dissipate, until serenity and reassurance settled comfortingly in my chest once again as I reminded to myself that she fine and that everything was okay.

"Here we are." She announced with that same loving smile firmily in place, only then realizing that we had reached the parking lot and had stopped in front of her car. "Ready to go?"

A hint of concern was visible, lying under the comforting warmth in her eyes when she noticed that I had gone silent for a few moments, but it was pushed immediately aside when she saw the smile that returned in full force on my lips as soon as I hear her question.

A sense of excitement and anticipation rose from my stomach as I nodded happily like a little kid, something that earned me a loud amused laugh from my lover.

"Is there a particular destination?" I asked then, unable to keep the curiousity out of my voice.

I didn't have planned anything for the occasion, didn't feel like there was the need, but apparently Alex had; she wanted to celebrate with me this important day, and just the fact that she had thought about it, was simply heartwarming, as if was the fact that she had taken a day off her very important work to come see my ceremony.

"Well, first of all, I want to bring you somewhere nice for lunch." She said giving a quick glance at her watch before her eyes returned to me with that particular mischievous glint shining in them as she opened the passenger door for me. "The rest however..." Her voice trailed off, her tone mysterious as it was the small smirk tugging at her lips.

"You are not going to tell me, are you?" I asked pursing my lips and narrowing slightly my eyes, trying mask the amusement on my face but not really succeeding in doing so.

Alex shook her head at me, smiling warmly. "Nope. You'll just have to wait..."

 **. . .**

During the week that preceded Piper's graduation, I worked for several, extra, tiring hours in the office so that I could have gotten two entire days off work in order to be present for one of the most important days of my lover's life and spend the next one with her doing whatever she wanted.

The bright smile that I saw constantly on her lovely face for all that afternoon spent together, was worth every second I spent buried under tons of paperworks and dossiers the previous days. And if that was the result that would have awaited me everytime, then I would have done it a thousand of times more.

See her so truly happy and serene was all that mattered to me.

Piper wasn't interested in parties and large celebrations like many of the boys and girls around her age were interested in, especially after such an important event.

But I had learned a long time before, just after the first _"date"_ we had, when I brought her to the bay, that Piper was different from anybody else.

She liked simple things, even though she had grown up in a wealthy family and could have had everything she desired for at her disposal, what she enjoyed the most where the small things. She wasn't materialist, but that didn't stop me from spoiling her that day, bringing her to a resturant I knew she would have loved, and she did, before bringing her to her favourite bakery, the best one new york had to offer, knowing how much of a sweet tooth she had, something that I had always found incredibly adorable on her and that never failed in making me smile broadly. And then, after we recovered from the abundant delicious meal, I brought her to an exclusive spa, where I had made a reservation for several treatments.

I wanted to help her relax in every way I could. She had worked so hard and for such a long time to obtain what she desired, and she deserved so much more than what I had to offer to her that day, but unfortunately the time at our disposal before returning to our respectives job was limited.

My surprise of the five days vacation had to wait a little longer, less than a couple of weeks, I reminded myself. Try to suppress the grin that was starting to tug at my lips when that thought crossed my mind once again, was hard, but I was determined to keep that all secret till the very last minute, wanting to enjoy fully my lover's reaction when I would have told her where I had intention to bring her for Christmas. To a caribbean island that I had recently learned was a place she had always strongly desired to go visit.

But for now, I was more than happy to enjoy some precious quiet time with my beautiful sweet girl.

"Thank you for today Alex," Piper's soft, elegant voice caressed my ears above the low volume of the movie playing on the screen, right before she lifted her head from my shoulder and placed a tender kiss on the corner of my mouth, something that had the power to make me tilt my head down in an attempt to mask a soft, rare blush that had started spreading across my cheeks, and that only she had ever been able to bring on my face.

We were at my place now after an entire afternoon spent in the city, it was early evening, and we were snuggled on the couch, cuddling under a blanket and watching a few old movies.

When I raised my head once again to look at her, the first thing I saw was the smile on her beautiful young face, it was full even if a little sleepy, but her eyes were bright, shining with a compelling, heartstopping combinations of emotions. "It's been a very beautiful day."

My efforts to make her relax had certainly succeeded, she was visibly much more calm, serene and the tension that had gathered on her in the past weeks was finally gone.

About me however... As soon as we arrived at my place that evening, the sense of nervousness that I had been able to suppress for that entire afternoon, started to resurface, settling heavily on my stomach with a strange combination of axiety and excitement that I wasn't used to feel. Well, not until Piper came into my life at least. But the feeling was still somehow foreign for me, even if with time, it was slowly starting to become more and more familiar.

"I'm happy you have enjoyed it Piper." I answered with a smile of my own as I played half absently with her soft golden hair. "I just..." My voice trailed off and my gaze dropped for a moment before I sighed and looked up at my lover once again, noticing the small crease that had appeared between her eyebrows during those few seconds that had me a little hesitant. "It's just that I wanted to do something more for you... Bring you somewhere nice for a couple of days and-Ummph!"

A pair of warm, soft lips silenced me with a series of slow, tender kisses as delicate hands cupped my cheeks, gently turning my head a little to bring me closer.

It was impossible not to melt right away and feel as my doubts melted slowly along with some of the tension that I felt in my shoulders. My eyes fluttered shut and my hand came up to rest delicately on the side of her neck as our lips parted, deepening the kiss, but always keeping it tender and innocent. It was meant to reassure me, and with that simple, yet meaningful gesture, my lover certainly succeeded in doing so. And if that wasn't enough, her words as we parted did the rest to comfort me futher.

"Today was perfect Alex." My eyes fluttered open at the caress of her sweet voice, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the sincerity lying into her clear, sparkling, smiling blue eyes as she caressed my face with her fingertips. "I've loved and savoured every minute of it." She reassured me. "And you know what made it so unique and special?"

The light shining in her eyes was so distracting and beautiful to see that I found myself unable to speak and say anything. I just swallowed, hard, shaking my head in negative and feeling how my heart started to race in my chest with a sense of anticipation and the same hint of nervousness of before.

Her smile widened even more and her eyes became a little teary. That last detail would have alarmed me immediately, if it wasn't for the answer that she gave me an hearbeat later.

"The fact that you were there for me Alex."

At her words, a rush of warmth spread into my chest, making my heart flutter wildly as my throat tightened with emotion.

"You were there during one of the most important days in my life." She continued, and now the tears were perfectly visible, swimming in her smiling clear blue eyes. "And that means everything to me."

This time, I was finally able to find my voice, and when I did, words didn't fail me.

"I would have never missed it." I said with nothing but reassuring confidence as my hand came up, tucking a soft strand of blonde hair behind her ear before I planted a soft kiss on the bridge of her nose.

The gesture earned me a lovely tender chuckle, followed by a small sniffle, and when I pulled back after leaving a kiss on her eyebrow, I noticed that one of those tears had escaped and was running down her cheekbone.

I wiped it away with the pad of my thumb, and then, after a moment of hesitation, Piper lifted her head, so that her glistening smiling pools filled with adoration fixed on mine.

"We have been so busy lately Alex... You, doing so many shifts at work, and me between the museum and the last preparations for my thesis. Honestly, I think a quiet, relaxing day was _exactly_ what we both needed." When she put it like that, and I remembered exactly how long and busy had been the last couple of months since we both started with our new occupations, the last of my doubts about what I thought was a too simple way to celebrate her graduation, started to dissolve, but even if her words made me feel better I couldn't help to ask a small tentative "You sure?"

Piper smiled at me, lovingly, nodding her head before she leaned in and kissed me softly.

"Yes sweety." She whispered against my lips when she pulled back, before snuggling comfortingly in my arms once again with a soft happy sigh. "And there is no other place in the world I'd rather be right now."

As my heart jumped more and more forcefully against my ribcage, I wrapped my arms protectively around her and kissed the top of her head. "Neither would I kid."

Even if Piper's words had managed to ease my doubts, there was still something I needed to do. The same thing that I had been waiting for all day, and that had also been the cause of that great deal of tension and nervousness I felt even in the previous days, but that also brought an immense sense of excitement.

The hard thing had been try to mask it from my lover's observant eyes. But somehow, I managed. Barely.

I had been waiting, hoping that during the day I would have relaxed enough to do it, but in that moment, as we were cuddled in each other's arms in the couch, I realized that, even though I was still feeling a bit nervous, it probably wasn't going to be a more calm and quiet moment than that one.

I swallowed hard, releasing a slow breath full of tension, but unable to do anything against my racing heart when I finally decided to address to my lover as my other hand kept playing nervously with the rectangular object resting in the pocket of my sweatpants.

"Piper?"

"Hmm?"

Her sigh was soft and I could _hear_ the contentment in it as she snuggled a bit closer, one arm already wrapped around my waist as her head rested between my chest and shoulder while her thumb kept stroking affectionately that same spot under my ribs through my sweater.

"There is something I wanted to give you..."

At this she raised her head from my shoulder and looked at me with a small adorable frown of confusion as she tilted her head a little to the side.

I couldn't help but chuckle in front of that look, but before she could ask me anything, I started to stand from the couch on my slightly trembling legs using the arm as support before I extended my hand for her to take.

"Uhm, Actually... It is something I wanted to show you." I explained diverting my gaze briefly before finding hers once again.

After a moment of confusion caused by my sudden strange behavior, my lover took my hand and stood with an amused smile and more than a hint of curiosity filling her voice when she asked "What is it?"

I answered her just with an enigmatic slightly shaky smile before leading her out of the living room, keeping my other hand in my pocket to try to somehow cover the light bulge there.

"You know, if you want to show me your impressive collection of vinyls, I'm afraid you have already showed it to me."

The tension that had started to grow and raise from my stomach was partially eased by the humorous deep chuckle that rumbled in my chest after Piper's banter as we walked down the silent, softly lit hallway.

"I know, but it's not my vinyls' collection." I replied feeling as my hands started to become sweaty, and feeling my heart jumping in my throat with every step that brought us closer to my destination.

"Then where are we-"

"Here."

I came slowly to an halt in front of the closed door, framed by two futuristic paintings on the far end of the hallway, where I knew Piper had never been before during the times she had been at my place.

Try to keep my nervousness at bay had been a vain effort, but I did my best for the minutes that followed.

The smile on my lips was small and tentative, almost insecure as I looked at the understandable expression of utter confusion that was covering my lover's face.

"Before we go in Piper, I want to give you this..." I said as I pulled out from my sweatpants the object that I had been carrying arond almost for the entire day and that had been in my mind for the last week.

"What is it?" She asked with a little frown and a curious smile when I handed her with a slightly trembling hand the small elegant black box, similar to the ones that usually contained watches.

"Open it." I just instructed, holding my breath for all the time until I heard the soft click of the box being opened, revealing the gadget nestled inside.

"A compass?" Asked my now even more confused looking lover with a hint of amusement shining in her eyes when she looked up at me once again taking the silver shiny object in her hand.

I nodded, swallowing hard, but not succeeding in my attempt to swallow down that persisting, uncomfortable, sense of nervousness.

"Yes, I know, it doesn't make much sense..." I agreed before taking the box from her hand, removing the tiny cushion resting in the center and pulling out the other thing that was hiding inside. "Not without these at least." I concluded, placing the box aside on the hallway table resting behind me.

In the moment I took the other hand of my lover and placed in her palm the object I was holding with a light clink, Piper's head snapped up.

When she looked at me, her eyes were wide and her lips parted as a realization flashed across her face.

"Alex?" She called my name as if she wanted a further explaination, but there wasn't.

She knew the compass held a meaning that was purely symbolic, and if there was any doubt left in her, I knew she understood everything as soon as I dropped the set of keys in her hand.

"I want you to always be able to find your way back home Piper."

Her eyes widened even more with disbelief and so many emotions , noticing how they started to fill with tears as I concluded.

"Here... With me."

When I took the last step and opened the door in front of which we had stopped, switching the lights on before placing my hand on the small of my lover's back and guiding her inside, my heart was hammering so hard that I thought it would have exploded in my chest.

"Alex..?" She turned to look at me with even more incredulosity, silently asking me to elaborate, because she didn't know how to process all that.

"This," I said gesturing generally around the large room. "Is my old study of when I was still in high school."

I watched as she took another tentative step inside on her now visibly shaky legs, admiring every particular in the room, from the hardwood desk, to the large glass wall that showed the backyard and the pool on the lower floor, until her eyes fixed with amazement on the immense bookcase that occupied the entire left wall and that I had recently restocked with encyclopedias of geography, history and art that even the most prestigious colleges of the country didn't possess.

I didn't say anything. Just watched her as she took everything in, feeling as the sense of nervousness inside of me started to dissolve the more the light of amazement and excitement in my lover's eyes became brighter with every passing second, until she turned from where she had stopped in the middle of the room to look at me, and at that point, when I read the thousand of questions written on her face, I spoke, deciding to give her an explaination, chosing carefully my words.

"I know that it is soon." I admitted, taking a step closer towards her. "We have just been together for a few months... And I'm not asking you to renunce to everything you have and to your independence; I know how much it means to you and I know how hard you had to work to get what you wanted." I said knowingly, glad that I had found my calm and confidence once again as I took another step closer and stopped right in front of her, noticing how small and fragile she looked as she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to keep the tears at bay, knowing that she was thinking about all that she had sacrificed to arrive where she did.

"I knew you wanted to continue with your studies while you keep your job at the museum, and this place... If you need a place where to study, or where to relax away from the city, or you feel just like you want to take a swim in the pool," I suggested with a smile gesturing towards the large window that faced the yard and the swimming pool below, succeeding in making my lover laugh through the tear that had escaped and was sliding down her cheek. "Or..." I continued then, softly, this time taking her free hand in mine and running my thumb affectionately across her knuckles. "If you just feel lonely and want to come over... You can do it whenever you want."

I paused, locking my eyes with the wide teary ones of my sweet girl and smiling tenderly at her as I thought about returning at home from work and finding her there, studying or taking a bath, or simply waiting for me reading a book on the couch, having dinner together before going to bed and falling asleep in each other's arms, and wake just like that every morning after.

The possibilities that opened in my mind were infinite, and each one made my heart skip a beat.

I was no longer the woman I had been for the past five years. Coming into my life, Piper had changed it, made it immesurably better only with her bright presence, showing me all the things that I had denied to myself for fear to lose.

And for how much part of me was still afraid, scared, knowing that what I was "offering" her was just the beginning for something more, the first small step for lots of bigger ones that would have followed, I couldn't ignore the way my heart responded so loudly to those imaginary scenarios. Nor I could pretend that a life with Piper wasn't what I had started to desire the most lately.

And when I spoke again, feeling her hand trembling slightly in mine, I told her one of the most important truths that lived in my heart.

"I'll always be here waiting for you Piper."

At that last line a small sob broke from her throat and a new tear slid down her cheek, watching as her shoulders started to shake for the intensity of the emotions running through her.

"I- I... I don't know what to say Alex." She admitted, her voice craking, but the smile on her lips never faltered. On the contrary. It only became brighter through her tears.

"You don't have to say anything..." I reassured her with a warm soft smile of my own as I delicately wiped away the tears from her face with my finger. "What's yours remain yours Piper, no one is ever going to take it away from you... But I want you to know that now you have a place here too. If you want to."

She looked briefly down at the two object resting in her hand, smiling through her tears, and when her gaze returned up to me, her eyes were shining with such an intense, bright light of love that left me breathless.

"I... I do. I want it Alex."

An overwhelming feeling of joy and relief washed over me when she said those words, and at that point, tears welled up in my eyes.

She didn't need to give me an answer and I wasn't expecting one at all, but hearing her say that... See the pure conviction in her eyes and hear the joyous confidence in her sweet voice, was more than what I was hoping for.

Unable to do anything else, I wrapped my arms around her waist, simply holding her in a tight loving embrance and feeling as her arms came up immediately to rest around my shoulders as we both laughed and sniffled with relief, excitement and anticipation of what was yet to come.

When we pulled back from our comforting hug and locked eyes, we simply found ourselves leaning in at the same moment, until our lips touched.

We kissed deeply, lovingly, giving each other everything we had, and then I felt it. The sincerity of her answer united with something else...

The desire for a life I wasn't the only one who had fantasized about. And in that kiss, in that gentle, tender expression of our love, we savoured the first taste of the future that we had imagined without having ever talked about it, but that we both _knew_ , wasn't very far down the road.


	32. Chapter 32

Hi everyone!

And here we are at last... The epilogue of the story.

I have to say that I'm kind of sad that this is the last one. I took so much joy in writing this for you guys that I know I will miss it a little :)

Before I leave you to the chapter however, I would like to say a few things. First of all, I want to thank you, all of you for your support, for your patience, for following each chapter, being faithful and believing in this story since the beginning. A special thanks goes to all the readers who have took a few moments to leave a few words and some thoughts in a review. Thank you guys. Really. All your kind words have warmed my heart, they have been a further encouragement for me to continue and have made me smile each day more :) I still remember when this idea came up to my mind and insisted to be written... And after a few months of this very long, very will ride, here it is, the last chapter... And now I'll leave you to it :)

Enjoy

* * *

A soft sigh left my lips as I stepped inside the house closing the door quietly behind me with a small thud.

It had been another long day, particularly busy and tiring, but the small smile of satisfaction was still there on my face just like any other day, and it only widened and brightened, turning into one of excitement and authentic hapiness when I realized that I had made it home earlier than usual.

It was late afternoon, the air was becoming quite chilly outside and the sun was showing its last bright rays, casting long shadows as it slowly disappeared below the horizon.

I placed my shoulder bag aside on the near chair and shrugged off my coat, hanging it neatly on the coat rack by the door as I watched from the large window how the yellow and orange leaves that had fallen on the ground were suddenly swept away by the cold wind, which bend the trees and shook the plants and flowers in the garden.

A cold shiver ran up to my spine in front of that sight, but it was immediately soothed by the contrasting pleasant warmth that I felt wrapping around me like a soft invisible blanket when my body registered the comforting heat in the house.

It was peaceful around, quiet, and the only sound audible was the one of my heels on the floor as I picked up my shoulder bag from the chair and started making my way towards the kitchen.

Arrive at home before dinner had been quite a challenge in the last couple of weeks, but I prefered to have some extra work waiting for me the next morning rather than lose those precious moments at home with...

Just when that thought crossed my mind, and in the same moment I stepped into the kitchen, I was met with one of the persons who could always find her way into my head during the day, didn't matter how busy I was.

A full smile formed on my lips, the kind of smile that reached my eyes and made my cheeks hurt, and that always appeared whenever I saw her. But that early evening, just like it appeared, it also faltered in a matter of seconds until it disappeared completely only to be replaced by a look of confusion and then by one of light concern when I noticed the expression on her face.

She was alert, like in stealth mode, with a look that I had never seen on her before, and when I noticed the deep frown between her eyebrows, she really started to worry me like only very few things could do. But as soon as she saw me, and before I could say anything, she stepped in front of me, silently but quickly, and placed two fingers against my lips, silencing me before I could even open my mouth.

My eyes widened and my entire body froze instictively at the small gesture, feeling the way my heartbeat quickened with a devastating sense of anguish as my heart started to beat so hard that I could feel it jump against my ribcage and pulse into my throat.

If I was a bit confused and slightly worried a few moments previous, now her behavior and the look on her face had me definitely concerned.

Infinite scenarios started to flash in my mind in the matter of a split second and each one that I saw appearing in front of me only worsened how I was already feeling, sending me almost into a panic attack.

I was right to the point to ignore the order to not talk and ask what was going on, when I heard it.

My gaze, as did the one of the tall woman standing before me, shifted immediately to look towards the kitchen island a few feet distant from us, where, on the other side, we noticed one of the stools moving, hearing the sound of the chair legs scraping lightly the ceramic tile floor combined with another one.

It was quiet. Barely audible. And it was slightly muffled. _Contained._

Suddenly, realization sunk into me and I understood immediately what was going on.

I would have recognized that sound everywhere...

And whenever I heard it, it always brought up immense joy and happiness, and not only in me...

My gaze returned to the dark haired woman standing before me, watching how her eyes widened and started to shine with mishief at the same time that a large smirk spread across her cheeks.

That sight was the last thing that I needed to see to feel my body starting to relax once again and feel as every trace of concern left me immediately, replaced by a much needed, soothing wave of reassurance and more than a hint of amusement.

With an incredibly swift movemevent, yet, being as silent as a fish, she turned and took a step towards the kitchen island before bending slowly to see who was hiding under it on the other side.

I should have been at least a bit angry after the way she had made me worry even if it had been only for a few short seconds. But I knew that she didn't mean it, and the scene that followed pushed aside every trace of concern left, filling me instead with even more happiness and infinite sentiment.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Exclaimed a very playful Alex, breaking the loud silence in the room before bending for the last few inches and scooping easily up in her arms the other someone who was always in my thoughts during the day along with my lover's presence.

A loud squeal followed then by an immediate fit of giggles was the result of Alex's finding as she picked up our four years old daughter who kept laughing and started squirming in her arms as my lover poked teasingly at her ribs with her free hand.

"I've found you little monkey!" She intoned satisfied, the smile on her lips widening even more, as did inevitably mine in front of the adorable reaction of our very amused kid.

It was a sight that never failed in melting me from the inside and that always overfilled my heart with joy and sentiment.

After a long tiring day of work there was nothing that would have brought a wider, brighter smile on my lips than return at home and witness the simple, yet heartwarming sight of my lover and our daughter playing together... Work would always be there waiting for me the next day, but I prefered to spend my lunch breaks after class to prepare the next lessons for my students rather than stay in my vast, empty office at college till late.

My amused smile turned into a loving, adoring one as I looked at the two persons who meant everything to me and more.

These moments went too quickly. And I wanted to savour as much of them as I could. Especially since our daughter was still so little...

"It looks like the two of you are having fun..." I said through a small chuckle at last, taking a step forward to place my bag on the kitchen stool and making my presence known to the someone who hadn't noticed me yet because of all the laughing and squirming she was doing in my lover's arms, but as soon as I talked, the fits of giggle stopped and another pair of tiny bright green eyes snapped wide open and fixed immediately on me.

"Mommy!"

The smile that she gave me was the same one that I received every day when I returned at home from work. Bright and full of adoration. Just like mine.

Alex chuckled, but didn't hesitate to put her down when she started squirming, this time reaching for me.

She ran eagerly towards me for those couple of steps in a very toddler like way, and at that point I couldn't resist but pick her up in my arms. "Hi baby..." I said through a smile kissing her on the cheek as she wrapped her tiny arms tightly around my neck. "I've missed you."

She was getting so big and I couldn't believe how quickly she was growing up.

A great part of me was saddened by that fact, but the other... Watching how much she resembled Alex with every passing day, only warmed me from the inside and made me wonder with a sense of excitement and anticipation how much she would have looked like my lover in a few more years.

Sometimes I found myself unable to believe that this one was really my life. That I had a job I felt honored to have, and that I had a family of my own, with the most beautiful and sweet little girl a mother could wish for and that I had made with the woman I knew I had loved since the very beginning, as if part of me had felt since the first moment that she was different from anyone else I had ever met. But I would have never expected that after a life spent on my own, where I had been abandoned by everyone I knew, things would have turned out so fabulously good for me with this mysterious dark haired, green eyed woman whom had attracted me to her with an untamable, overwhelming force.

After she gave me the keys of her home all those years back, and said that she wanted me to feel free to come over whenever I wanted to, I found myself unable to resist the temptation, even if she lived a good 45 minutes drive outside the city.

I always missed her terribly during the day and knowing that, luckily, she had started to return at home at a reasonable hour in that period, it was never something I would ever been able to resist.

It was just a matter of time before I moved in with her after my doctorate.

It was gradual and neither of the two almost realized it, until one day I found out, with no small amount of surprise and amusement, that I hadn't returned at my apartment in almost two weeks and that a great deal of my books, clothes and necessities were already at Alex's place.

It was an important step for our relationship but we were ready and we were both incredibly happy and excited to make it official. In my mind I could no longer even think about not waking up in her arms every day and fall asleep holding her every night.

We had been together for almost four years when one night, while we were snuggling happily under the covers, basking in the after glow of our lovemaking, I approached very delicately the subject of what she thought about kids. A subject that for some reason, in that period had started to present itself in my mind more frequently.

Alex had always been a bit introvert and tended to shut down completely on subjects she didn't want to approach, felt insecure about or... scared.

But with me... She had always been different with me.

And after so many years spent with her, years that I wouldn't have traded for _anything_ in the world, I knew how to approach a possible difficult subject with my lover while reassuring her at the same time.

I never pressured her or insisted for anything.

Alex needed her time to process things on her own, but I knew that the children subject would have been very delicate.

We had never talked about it before that time, and once I had, I did it carefully, just a few words, then I kissed her and fell asleep snuggled at her side with her arms wrapped loosely around me and her heart pounding hard in her chest, right under my ear.

Eventually, it was Alex the one who, after a couple of months, when she was ready, asked me with that adorable, slightly insecure tone and look on her face that I would have never forget, if it was something I was still considering, because she herself, had started to think about lately.

My answer came with a big smile, a soft, gentle, reassuring kiss on her lips and an "Absolutely yes... But only if you want it sweetie, and if you do, then only when you'll feel ready." And I was sincere. I would have _never_ forced Alex in doing something she didn't feel ready for or wasn't sure about.

I was deeply in love with her. I had been ever since she brought me out the first time probably. And I loved her so much that sometimes I couldn't believe it was all real. My heart always pounded in the same way it did the first times I saw her, one of her smiles would made it flutter wildly in my chest, and one of her kisses would turn my legs into jelly at every occasion.

Such life changing decisions couldn't have been rushed, yet, I could still remember the look she gave me and the way she started to play nervously with her hands when she answered me with a shaky breath and a small, still slightly hesitant "I-I think I want to... With you."

And she really wanted it. Probably more than what she wanted to admit to me or herself, but I saw it shine in her eyes.

She said since the beginning though that she couldn't imagine herself carrying, that she wouldn't have been comfortable with the idea, not to mention that with the occasional risks in her kind of job it wouldn't have been wise, but I reassured her immediately with an even brighter smile and a few tears already forming in my eyes.

In my mind there's never been a doubt. I wanted to carry our baby, _Alex's baby_ , more than anything.

We both had a very good, stable job that luckily allowed us enough time for ourselves with a few exceptions. So, after a few more careful considerations, with time, we went to a clinic specialized in In vitro fertilization, where we chose a donor that had some of my characteristics and looked like me, and then had one of Alex's fertilized eggs implanted in me.

All it took was one try.

A month and half later we found out that the procedure had succeeded.

I was ecstatic. I felt wondrously. Beyond happy, even if a bit nervous.

And Alex... Alex was truly excited. But even if she was trying very hard to mask it, I knew she was scared. Much more than what I thought possible.

Maybe it had to do with her job, and with all the horrible things she saw almost every day, aware of all the awful things the world was filled with and that she wanted to keep away from our child, and if that wasn't enough to make her nervous, she also confessed to me that she thought she wasn't worth it, that she wouldn't have been enough, that she wouldn't have been a good mom... But her unfounded doubts were soothed and pushed away by me whenever they came up, with patience and reassuring words, and then, without she could even realize it, by her incredibly loving and _very_ protective behaviour that she had naturally developed towards me and our unborn child during the months that followed.

There was no doubt in my mind that Alex was going to be a great mom. And she had showed it to me and to herself despite the doubts she thought she had.

Especially that day... The day when I got a mild fever and started to feel a lot of pain, followed by intense waves of sickness and dizziness until I was sure I was going to faint.

It happened a couple of weeks before I was due and I was extremely worried. But Alex...

That day, for the first time since we had been together, I saw how a terrified Alex Vause looked like.

In front of me she had always looked strong, brave, fearless... But that day, when she had rushed me to the hospital, and where then the doctors had to bring me in for an emergency c-section, the look of pure fear was the only thing I could see on my lover's face.

Nicky was there with her too, arrived as soon as she got the news, trying to calm her best friend and my lover down and saying to me afterwards that she had been pacing a trench along the hallway, threatening every nurse and doctor she saw coming into my room with death if something would have happened to me or our daughter.

She said she had never seen Alex so freaked out, worried and frightened in all the years they had been friends. And I believed her.

I was beyond worried too, but luckily, everything turned out perfectly fine.

I was okay, and our daughter was safe and healthy, and she was beautiful.

When they finally let Alex in, she barged into the room with the force of a tornado and started rushing towards the bed where I was lying.

...I will never forget the way she stopped dead in her tracks a few feet distant from me, eyes wide, glistening and filled with emotions, when she saw me holding our baby for the first time.

And I will never forget the way she started shaking, crying, _sobbing_ , after I looked at her with a broad, teary smile and told her "She has your eyes Alex."

That was the first time that I saw her crying so hard and so openly, but I knew that it was nothing to worry about because of the broad smile that I saw spreading across her face under all those tears.

Tears that only kept forming more and more in her eyes when she took those last few steps oh so tentatively and saw her for the first time, and sobs that only became harder when I told her that we should have named her after her mother. We settled for Diana; a small variation, but the same meaning.

See Alex so emotional was beyond heartwarming. I knew that there was a much tender side of my lover, one that she just allowed me to see, and that had taken some time for her to let it show from under her armor, but even once she did, I never thought that I would have ever seen her like that.

Alex was a woman of action, one who had been trained like a soldier, who had to keep her emotions under control and who had buried them deep down when the person she cared the most in the world was killed. Yet, with me, she had let me take a look through the chinks in that armor that she had built and wore every day. An armor that, with time, she had started to pull away, leaving her exposed in front of me, and that that day, the last few small pieces left, were shattered forever and reduced into dust in the moment she took our baby girl in her arms for the first time...

"I've missed you too mommy." Those few adorably mumbled words pulled me back from those thoughts and distant, yet very still vivid memories, and brought me once again in the present, almost five years later from those events, where I was standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding in my arms my sweet little girl, who was the perfect replica of a little Alex.

"Me and mama were just playing..." She explained then, and I had to hold back from correcting her this time when I heard that adorable hint of hesitation in her tiny voice as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't suppoused to.

"Actually," This time, I raised my gaze and looked where my lover was standing a few feet in front of me, unable to suppress the loving smile that spread across my cheeks when I laid my eyes on her as she continued.

"Mama was _working_ , but this cute little monkey here decided that apparently, I needed a break..."

She took the last couple of steps and ruffled affectionately our daughter's messy short dark hair, who started giggling once again on the crook of my neck at the tender gesture.

The smile on my lips widened even more, turning inevitably into a much adoring one when my lover stepped right in front of me. That trademark smirk firmly in place on her lips as her eyes shone with love.

We whispered a soft, affectionate "hi" to each other before leaning in for a tender kiss that, unfortunately, didn't last enough and that left me craving for much more, just like any other time, but we had both agreed to contain ourselves in front of our little girl, even if she wasn't looking at the moment.

Just like any other evening we asked each other about how was the day and how did work go. A routine we had become quite familiar with and that I loved very much.

Alex was still working with the Bureau, but she had been promoted and sometimes, if she needed to, she could bring some of her paperworks at home, where she could organize the work for the task force that she lead with-

"Ha! Oh man, I knew I should have searched the kitchen first..."

In the same moment that that thought crossed my mind, Alex's best friend appeared in the kitchen doorway, a small funny whine of disappointment in her voice, but a smirk tugging at her lips, which became even wider when her gaze landed on the three of us standing in the middle of the room.

"Wait..." I interjected, unable to suppress a chuckle. "So you were playing too?"

At that, she diverted her gaze, looking down as she started rubbing the back of her neck absently before mumbling a "yeah" which didn't fail in making me laugh softly as I put my daughter down once again, who didn't wait to rush excitedly towards the petite woman, hugging tightly her leg.

"Hey! This place is huge, someone had to check for the upper floors!" She said defensively through a chuckle of her own as she held up one of her hands in mock surrender. "Didn't want the little one to get into trouble..." She concluded then in a much softer tone as she looked down and playfully ruffled Diana's hair, who looked up at her and frowned mumbling an almost offended "I don't go into trouble!"

Our daughter was almost five, and even if she was still very little, she was a very obedient girl, and she knew what she couldn't do and where she wasn't allowed to go on her own. Yet, see Nicky's strong protective side over her was something that warmed me from the inside every time. She cared for Diana as if it was her niece and, useless to say, Diana simply _adored_ her. She loved to play with Nicky and enjoyed all the riduculous funny stories she invented only to make her laugh.

"Mommy? Can aunt Nicky stay for dinner?"

Even that excited request wasn't new. Nicky had decided to move from Alex's place a little after I had moved in definitely. Her decision had saddened as much Alex as it did to me, over having filled me with guilt, but Nicky had reassured the both of us that it was okay like this and that we needed our space. However, we still kept seeing each other several times per week, and she and Alex saw every day at and were still the best friends they had always been. And luckily, it wasn't unusual to have her at home like the old times when they were working together on something.

Before I could answer to my daughter however, and say to Nicky that she was more than welcome to stay like every other time, the petite woman spoke, with a hint of hesitation and a soft, barely visible blush on her face that didn't go unnoticed by me.

"Actually, I don't think I can this time kiddo..." She said then, looking down at a suddenly very sad and disappointed Diana, who pouted oh so adorably. A look that was as cute as it was impossible to resist, just like the slightly whined "Why?" that followed.

"Aw come on!" Nicky exclaimed softly then, trying to resist from giving in and looking up towards my very amused lover. "Did you teach her that Alex?" She asked accusingly indicating to our daughter's irresistible pout.

"Uh uh, don't look at me sister." Alex said holding up her hands and trying unsuccessfully to suppress the wide grin on her face.

"Are you sure you can't stay Nicky?" I couldn't help but ask gently, with a sincere smile, hoping that our dear friend would have changed idea, a little puzzled and more than a bit curious about that blush that I saw spreading once again across her cheeks at my question.

She looked between me and Alex while rubbing the back of her neck. "Y-yeah, thank you Piper... But I... Uh... already have a... Uh... I'm busy..."

That certainly made me even more curious, and when I saw that she exchanged another look with Alex, I turned a little to lock eyes with my lover, immediately noticing the smirk that started tugging at her lips.

"She has a date." She whispered to me proudly, and after hearing that, everything became clear.

A wide smile started spreading across my face along with a look of realization at that unexpected but also very welcomed news, and when I looked back at Nicky I noticed how the blush on her cheeks had become even brighter.

Nicky had several flings during the years Alex and I had been together, but nothing that came even close to something serious, and seeing her like this, suddenly all flushed and a bit nervous was definitely something new.

"Oh, I see..." I said with a small smirk, watching how Alex lifted her eyebrows and nodded with a strangely smug look. She was probably the one whom had encouraged her friend to pursue this, and since Nicky seemed still a little nervous and in need of some last advice, I decided that leaving her and Alex alone for a few minutes would have been good for the petite woman.

"Don't worry Nicky..." I said reassuringly placing my hand on her shoulder in encouragement. "You'll do great... No need to be nervous." My little gesture was enough to earn me a small slightly shaky but sincere smile and a "thanks" followed by a mumbled "I hope so".

Nicky was just like Alex when I first met her. Confident and maybe even a little cocky. And seeing her like that was pretty amusing. But I wanted things to go well with her. She had helped so much when Alex and I were at the beginning of our relationship, and after we had that much needed discussion at the chalet all those years before, we had become very good friends.

My attention then returned to my daughter when I felt her wrap her tiny hand around mine and noticed the small, adorable, badly suppressed yawn that she let out.

"Come on sweetie," I said through a small chuckle, picking her up in my arms once again. "Let's go take a bath before dinner, okay?" I asked with a warm smile trying to cheer my baby girl up a bit when I saw that she still had that sad look on her face.

"Okay..." She mumbled, still somehow sadly. A tone that got immediately Nicky's attention, who was definitely looking guilty in front of Diana's expression.

"Hey, listen here kiddo, I promise that next time I'll stay and then I'll continue with the story you like so much..."

Diana's face lit up immediately at that promise and a big smile spread across her face.

"The one with the dragons?" She asked excitedly. A reaction that made all three of us chuckle with amusement.

"Yes, exactly that one kiddo." Nicky answered with a smirk and a small wink as she stroked her hair affectionately one last time.

Who would have ever said that Nicky was this good with kids and that she was quite the storyteller with an impressive amount of invented characters and able to imitate different voices...

With a more happy looking Diana, and after she had said goodbye to her honorary aunt, I gave Nicky a few more reassuring words and a warm smile, followed by a more loving one back to my lover before I exited the kitchen and headed towards the stairs.

My daughter was quiet for a few moments until she called me tentatively.

"Mommy?"

"Mmh? What is it sweetheart?"

She remained quiet for a few moments longer and then asked

"What's a _date_?"

At that curious question, and in front of that look, I couldn't help but chuckle.

Those tiny ears could certainly catch anything...

 **. . .**

"Piper's right you know..." I said with a small smirk tugging at the corner of my lips and taking a couple of steps towards my friend to place a reassuring hand on her arm when I noticed how suddenly nervous she looked as she started playing absently with her fingers. "You have no reason to worry Nicky, you'll do great. Everything will be great."

Even if I knew that she was listening to me, it was the gentle squeeze I gave to her shoulder that eventually made her raise her head once again to lock eyes with me.

"You think so?" She asked with a tone so nervous and insecure that I had never heard in her voice before, but that was nothing compared to the light of hope that I saw shine in her kind brown eyes at my words.

"There's no doubt in my mind sister." I reassured her confidently, throwing her a friendly wink that seemed to ease her a little. "And neither should yours..." I added then.

At that, she started nodding, releasing a long sigh full of tension before straightening her back and looking at me with a smile that even if it was still somehow nervous, was also much more secure and bright.

"Alright... Any last minute advice?" She asked checking quickly her watch.

For a few seconds I just looked at her with a smile that was a combination of amusement and authentic happiness for my friend.

"Just be yourself Nicky, like you have always been around her in these couple of weeks." I said sincerely. "She enjoys your company, she laughs at your jokes and you two have a lot of things in common..."

My words were certainly having the result that I was hoping they would have had on my nervous friend, but I could still see the hint of insecurity on her face, recognizing the light creases on her forehead.

"So... It's that how you have been like when you went out with Piper the first couple of times?" She decided to ask me running a hand through her long messy hair in a nervous habit that made me smile as I considered her question for a few more moments before answering with a "Yes... Except for the whole thing of omitting the truth to her about which my profession was, and..."

My voice trailed off for a moment as my mind filled once again with those distant, unpleasant memories.

"Well, you know how that turned out..." I said quietly as I diverted my gaze. Regret still present in my voice even after all those years, and when I raised my head once again I noticed immediately the sad smile that appeared also on my friend's face at that reminder as she nodded knowingly. "But you don't have to worry about that." I reassured her as soon as I recovered. "She already knows you are a computer engineer and the hacker of our task force, and you know she is a technician in the lab. You two are not even in the same unit, and are not collegues so... Really, you shouldn't worry about anything Nicky." I concluded with a wide smile.

I was pretty excited and incredibly happy that my friend had finally met someone who she really liked.

I had never seen her so taken by someone before, not like that.

And ever since the new petite young technician had joined the lab team, it had been impossible not to notice the change in my best friend's behavior during that last month. She was more smiling and she tried to find every excuse she could to go downstairs in the lab.

She had been alone long enough, few flings a part... Much longer than what I thought could have been possible actually. And even if I had just caught them talking together a couple of times, I hadn't certainly missed the lingering looks or the way they smiled at each other. I could tell that even the other young half-italian woman was all over my friend. She was kind, funny, smart and with that particular hint of weirdness that balanced perfectly with the one of my friend.

"Okay..." Nicky's voice pulled me out from those thoughts, and when I looked at her, I saw how more confident and serene she looked after my reassuring words.

"But... There's just one more thing I wanted to ask you actually, Al..." And here it was when she started to sound a little hesitant again as she played absently with her hands.

"What is it?" I asked gently with just a hint of curiousity and light concern in my voice.

I watched her take a small sip of air, releasing it with a shaky breath, taking her time as if she needed to consider her question a moment longer before she finally locked eyes with me once again.

"When you brought Piper out for the first time... Like _officially_... How was it?"

That certainly made me even more curious, especially since I wasn't sure what she was exactly asking, but before I could even open my mouth and ask for clarifications, she explained herself.

"I mean... How did she make you feel like?"

As soon as I she asked me that question, and I heard how tentative her voice sounded,noticing the light blush on her cheeks, I couldn't help but smile as my mind brought me many years back to that particular occasion, when I had taken Piper to that exhibition of paintings, and then at the bay right the following day.

In just a few seconds I went through all the emotions and sensations that I had experienced with Piper in those first occasions, remembering every small detail of those couple of days, from the red cocktail dress that she wore that night at the exhibition, in which she looked breathtaking, to the sweet, fruity smell of her hair combined with the salty one of the air of the sea the next day, but especially, more than anything else, I remembered perfectly how I felt. Because, even after all those years, I kept feeling the same every day.

With the same, slightly nostalgic smile on my lips, I just looked at my friend who was waiting eagerly my answer, and without a hint of hesitation I simply said "Defenseless."

Through the whole set of emotions that Piper always brought up in me ever since the first time we had spent some time together outside my bedroom, defenseless was certainly the stronger one that I felt whenever she was around, and was also the most terryfing one that I had ever experienced. Only now, it no longer terrified me.

"Piper made me feel defensless. Unarmed. And she still can make me feel like that." I admitted. "But for how frightened a great part of me was the first time I felt like that...The other one, for how strange it might sounds, felt safe. And accepted."

Nicky knew what Piper's sudden presence in my life had done to me. How she had slowly brought me back from the cold, empty grave where I was lying when I first met her, and how having her around had started to make me feel like a person, a _human being_ once again. And by the look and knowing smile that I saw appearing on my best friend's face, I could tell that she understood what I was talking about.

And just like that, she confirmed it to me.

"Yeah... I... I think I'm starting to understand how it is like." She said with a nod and a thoughtful look that made me smirk.

"Well, I really need to go now sister... Have to get home and prepare." She annonced after a few more moments as she checked once again her watch.

"Ugh, you see?" I asked frustrated. "Wouldn't have been much more convenient if you were still living here?"

At that exasperated question my friend couldn't hold back a very amused laugh that made me glare dangerously at her, even if the small smirk that was already tugging at my lips didn't make it look so dangerous after all.

"Seriously Nicky, remember me why did you decide to move from here?" This time, my voice was soft and the amused smirk that was playing on my lips just a few moment previous, turned into a sad smile as I looked at my best friend, who answered me with her usual amount of humour.

"Well, when you knocked up Piper I thought that I really needed to give you lovebirds some space..."

It was her choice of words that made me burst out laughing, and the tone she used didn't make things easier.

" _Knocked up?_ Really Nicky?" I asked unable to mask the amusement in my voice as I repeated her same words.

My friend chuckled in front of my reaction and started nodding.

"Yeah well... I mean, _technically_ you did. That egg was yours Alex." She said matter of factly with a smirk as she lifted one eyebrow.

"And Diana..." She continued shaking her head, noticing how the smile on her face only become wider. "I have seen a few pictures of you when you were little Al... And she is your carbon copy."

My heart clenched tightly with sentiment at my friend's words, in a way I never thought would have been possible until a few years previous. And when I thought that I actually kind of got Piper pregnant with my kid, I couldn't help but feel smug about it.

"Yeah... I guess she really is." I said at last. My look distant, but a wide, proud smile was showing on my face as I thought about my sweet little girl. "Although she is just like Piper about the whole behavior-manners-thing."

At that Nicky let out an exhagerated sigh of relief. "And thank god for that!"

"Hey!" I pretended to look offended, but the grin on my face gave me away, and the playful swat that I gave on her shoulder only made her laugh harder.

Once we had both recovered from the new round of chuckles Nicky smiled at me, a bit sadly, not wanting to interrupt the nice moment we were sharing but knowing that it was getting late.

"Now I really have to go sister..." She said, and for how much she tried to mask it, I could perfectly see the same hint of nervousness of before starting to resurface.

"It will be okay Nicky." I repeated reassuringly, placing my hand on her arm and giving a gentle squeeze before I thought about something.

"Here." I said, reaching into the pocket of my black jeans, pulling out the small object there and handing it to my friend. "Take my car. If she really loves motors like you say, she will certainly enjoy the ride on this." I concluded with a wink, chuckling when I saw the way her eyes widened almost comically before a wide grin spread across her face.

"You sure?" She asked excitedly but with a hint of hesitation before taking the keys.

I nodded. "On two conditions though." I warned her. "No street racing, and no _funny buisness_. Trust me. You don't want to try to do _that_ in there. For how hot it might look like at first, it's too fucking uncomfortable."

At that she lifted her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side with a smirk so wide that I thought would have split her face in two. "Speaking from experience I see..." She guessed smugly and I knew that, even if Piper wasn't there with me at the moment, I had probably blushed for the both of us into a bright shade of red as I rubbed awkwardly the back of my neck, something that only made Nicky laugh some more. But the little embarassing moment was worth it, because when she recovered, thankfully, she certainly looked much more relaxed and calm.

"Thank you Al..." She said gratefully with a genuine smile and kind brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Don't even mention it." I reassured her, waving a dismissive hand.

With a few last goodbyes and wishes to my dearest friend before she left, and after I had returned briefly to my study to reorganize the paperworks and dossiers that I had examined that afternoon, it was only a matter of minutes before I returned to the kitchen, where I found my sweet little girl already dressed in her pajamas and drawing quietly on the countertop; a sight that never failed in filling me with sentiment and that always brought a smile on my face.

Even if she didn't have a single drop of Piper's dna in her, it really looked that beside the same kind, calm and very sweet spirit, she had also inherited her birth mother's passion for art and talent for drawing.

She was still little, but she had a conception of depth and use of perspective that no one around her age, or even a few years older, had, and that wasn't just the pride of a mother speaking. It wouldn't have been a surprise actually if she would have turned out to really become a painter like she said she wanted to be when she grew up.

Just a few moments later, my lover entered the kitchen dressed in something more comfortable and with a smile on her lips that only became wider when she saw me.

This was the moment of the day that I loved the most.

The one that I always waited so eagerly to come.

When work was done and my lover had returned at home.

No more thoughts or concerns for a while, just us, the three of us together. Enjoying the simple moment as Piper and I prepared dinner in between chats, giving each other a few loving smiles, and exchanging many intense looks that were always filled with desire and promises for later. And that evening wasn't different from all the others.

We made dinner, chuckling amused at some of the questions that our ever curious child asked us, and then we ate all together. And just like every other night, when it was barely past 8 pm, Diana started to look very tired, trying her best to suppress the oh so adorable yawns and insisting a few times that she wasn't tired and if she please could stay up for a little longer with us.

She fell asleep in my arms while I was bringing her upstairs, hating that I had to wake her up even if for just a couple of minutes so she could brush her teeth, and before she knew it, I had already brought her in her room and put her in bed, tucking her in with her favourite dragon plush which she hugged immediately, wrapping her tiny arms around it.

For how much I tried everytime, it was impossible not to feel my throat tightening and my eyes pricking with tears in front of that sight.

Sometimes I still couldn't believe how much my life had changed since the night Piper and I met. And the fact that it had all changed for the better, was just thanks to her.

I would have never imagined that this was the kind of life that made for me.

And if someone would have told me that I would have ended up having a small loving family of my own one day, I would probably have laughed histerically in their faces.

When I met Piper I was damaged. Broken. Wounded inside by wounds so deep that no kind of medicine would have ever cured. Only made worst by the poisoning job I did at the time.

A job that I loved and that sometimes, even if rarely, I missed. But that I would have never, ever returned to do knowing that because of it I had risked to lose the most important, beautiful thing that had happened to me, and that had brought me back to life as a human and not as the cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty assassin that I was.

And now, there I was. In a room that had been empty for so long, just like the deepest places in my heart. Sat on the edge of the single bed of my four years old daughter, the sweetest and most lovable little girl in the world that I had made with the woman I loved of a love so pure and deep that sometimes still made me ask myself if it was possible that it was all real.

I remained there for a few more minutes, unable not to stay there a little longer and just watch her sleep so peacefully as I stroked delicately her short messy black hair.

Eventually it was the feeling of a gentle hand being placed on my shoulder that made me blink a few times and focus to look up at my lover, who was smiling sweetly at me.

"Is everything okay?" She whispered softly in the silent, dimly lit room.

I smiled, nodding before answering just as softly. "Perfect."

Our gazes then returned to the sleeping little girl curled up on bed. I stroked her hair affectionately one more time and then leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"I love you baby." I whispered, and just when I was pulling back I heard her mumble a sweet "love you too mama" in her sleep that didn't fail in clenching my heart with sentiment.

It was with no small amount of reluctance that I got up, watching with a warm smile as my lover leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before she fixed the blankets around her, making sure that she stayed covered and warm.

Just like every other night, I made sure that the windows were well closed. My kind of job made me always vigilant, and where my daughter and my lover were concerned I was even more alert, and luckily, Piper understood that need, she knew how many horrible things I saw every day, and we both wanted to be sure that our child would have always been safe.

With a final glance towards the bed, I switched off the bedside lamp and left the room very silently with my lover, who deliberately left the door just barely open behind her.

It was impossible not to notice the loving look on her face or the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at me, smiling warmly as we walked towards our bedroom which was just a couple of rooms distant from our daughter's.

Even after all those years, the effect that one of Piper's full, bright, adoring smiles had on me, had still the power to take my breath away and make my heart flutter in my chest.

"She looks more and more like you every day Al..." She observed happily, taking my hand in hers as we entered into our room, and at her words, I couldn't help but feel the same sense of pride swelling inside me.

"Physically, maybe... Yeah." I agreed through a chuckle. "But when I was her age all I did was running around and get into trouble."

She pretended to look surprised by that information but her expression only made me laugh harder especially when she gasped in mock incredulity.

I shook my head in amusement as we stopped in front of each other, right in front of the bed that we shared every night. "No... She is just like you Piper. In everything."

She blushed a little and tilted her head down, exactly proving my point.

"Diana is shy, kind, incredibly sweet..." I listed with a warm smile as I lifted my lover's chin and looked into those clear blue pools where I always found myself drowning into. "She may look just like me from the outside, but from the inside, she is just like you." I said feeling as the same warm sensation started spreading in my chest when Piper looked at me with the same loving smile. "And that couldn't make me happier." I admitted with a small emotional lump in my throat as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Really?" She asked with a timid smile on her face that only widened the one on my lips.

I chuckled in front of that adorable look, noticing how her eyes sparkled with happiness, and then I aswered her with a secure yet soft "Really."

We leaned in at the same time, clamining the lips of the other with infinite gentleness and love, feeling how my heart fluttered wildly in my chest at the simple contact and feeling how Piper leaned more into me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as I gripped gently her waist.

We took the last couple of steps towards the bed, smiling into the kiss when I sat on the edge and Piper straddled me, my hands coming up immediately to rest on her long, slim, toned legs, feeling how she shivered oh so deliciously in my arms when I came across the same sensitive spot near her hipbone.

The kiss was sweet, tender and we both could feel the whisper of desire calling us louder with every passing second, especially in that position, pratically pressed against each other, but before we decided to give in completely, we pulled back, with more than a hint of reluctance.

Even after all those years every single sensation, every touch and whispered moan had the same effect it had on me of the very first time, and every night when we made love in our bed, it was like I touched her for the first time over and over. The desire we had for each other was strong and deep, passion was very alive in the both of us combined with that delicious sense of anticipation that just made everything more amplified.

She rested her forehead against mine and cupped my cheeks in her hands looking at me with an overwhelming light of love and adoration and a tender smile on her lips.

My heart swelled so much in my chest in front of that look that it almost hurt. She was as beautiful as she was the evening I met her, with the same innocence and light that I had noticed immediately when I got to know her a little better.

And it was with that thought in mind that I found myself asking softly, curiously a just a bit hesitantly "Do you ever think about how it could have been like if we had met under different circumstances?"

The way Piper had dealt with her previous life and with all the things that she had done before meeting me, was admirable. I had always said she was strong, even stronger than me. And we had both agreed a bit sadly but knowing that it was the right thing to do, that when it would have been the time and our daughter would have been old enough to understand, with the right words we would have told her how we really met.

At my tentative question, she pulled back a little to look better at me. The loving smile never leaving her lips, even if for just a moment it faltered a little, only to return stronger than before when she answered.

"Sometimes..." She admitted honestly in a quiet whisper as she caressed the side of my face with her thumb.

"But I know that in whatever circumstance I would have met you," She continued as she traced delicately her fingertips along my jawline. "I would have always ended up falling in love with you."

Tears formed in my eyes at that answer, because it was the only one I knew was true.

We had met when we were at the lowest in our lives, I was broken and numbed the pain doing things I had never been very proud of, and Piper was trying to keep going on her own after she had been abandoned by everyone she knew, doing what she did because she was in difficulty, but had never, not even in her darkest moment given up to follow her dream.

We met when we needed someone without knowing it. But not just _anyone._ We needed _each other._

It couldn't have been any other way...

"I love you Piper." I whispered looking her into her now too smiling, glistening blue eyes.

In whatever universe existed, we were meant to be together and love each other.

"I love you too Alex." She whispered back before leaning in and kissing me with breathtaking sentiment.

"Always."

 _The End_

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 **Thanks for reading everyone :)**


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